


Into The Unknown

by NUMBER1ANGIRL



Series: Wait For It [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Chat Noir, Better than the tags make it sound, Blood, Future Fic, Hawkmoth Defeat, I promise!, Kid Fic, Minor Character Death, Multi, Murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 47
Words: 51,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25064644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NUMBER1ANGIRL/pseuds/NUMBER1ANGIRL
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been Ladybug for 12 years now. She’s been fighting Hawkmoth by herself in this time, without the partner she was promised. When Hawkmoth is defeated, she starts fighting a new villain, and the strange ache of something she wasn’t aware was missing.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois/Sabrina Raincomprix, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Luka Couffaine/Kagami Tsurugi, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Max Kanté/Lê Chiến Kim, Plagg/Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Series: Wait For It [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884262
Comments: 307
Kudos: 206





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm posting yet another fic. DON'T JUDGE ME!

Adrien keeps his eyes trained on his lap as he waits outside his father’s office. He’d know it had been a mistake to try and go to school. Adrien realized it the second he’d managed to slip out the large front door.

But honestly, with his feet slapping on the concrete, all of the adrenaline coursing through his body. It was just so hard to remember all of the reasons why it was a bad idea. 

He’d known that he would be in trouble. It was a fact as true as saying that his father hated all people. 

But he hadn’t realized that it would warrant this. 

Adrien could count the amount of times he’d been in his father’s presence since the disappearance of his mother. The rare times that he’d seen the man, Adrien had done his best to be respectful. The perfect facade that his father made sure the public saw.

But never had he wanted to see Adrien when he did something wrong. 

Skipped piano? Nathalie would stay in his room until he did the required hours of practice.

Tracking mud into the house? Gorille would be required to carry him until he learned to wipe his feet off.

But trying to go to school? That apparently required an audience in front of his father that wasn’t even planned. And that scared Adrien more than anything. 

His father hated things off schedule. 

Adrien rocks back and forth in his seat. Gorille is sitting next to him, his eyes filled with sympathy. 

It hurt to see that look directed at him. It made guilt crawl up Adrien’s throat, and panic rise in his chest. 

What was going to happen to him?

The door slowly opens, and Nathalie steps out. Her eyes are downcast, and lips set in a thin line. “Your father will see you now, Adrien.”

He gulps, looking at Gorille one last time. The man nods in encouragement, but even he looks a little reluctant. 

Before Adrien walks into his father’s office, he turns to Nathalie. “What’s going to happen to me?” He asks nervously, eyes boring into hers.

She sighs, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. He just wants to talk to you.” 

Adrien slowly nods, before crossing the sacred threshold. He never liked going into this particular room. Like the rest of the house, it made Adrien feel incredibly small. But this part was entirely his father’s part of the house. There was no familiarity that he held towards this room, and that right there made it seem all the more intimidating.

Gabriel is standing by the big windows, his arms crossed behind his back. The door clicks shut behind Adrien, and before he can say anything, Gabriel says, “Sit.” 

He didn’t say it particularly aggressive or loud, but it still made Adrien shiver in fear. The man just had an aura of power and intimidation that didn’t sit right in the young boy. So, he did as his father said, and sat in the chair closest to him and farthest from his father.

“Nathalie told me that you tried to go to school today.” Gabriel says slowly, and Adrien’s heart drops to his stomach. His father had very particular rules, and he expected them to be followed. Adrien had no idea what happened to be people that  _ didn’t  _ follow his father’s instructions. 

Probably because no one was stupid enough to disappoint Gabriel Agreste. Well, until him anyways.

“You know that I prefer you to be home.” It wasn’t a question. Adrien  _ did  _ know better. So why did he try to break the rules? 

Adrien nods slowly. “Yes father.” He says, his voice cracking. He winces, his father hated when you showed weakness.

Gabriel turns around. “And yet you tried to go to school anyway.” Again, not a question. “Do you know what that tells me, Adrien?”

“What, father?” Adrien asks, his eyes looking anywhere but Gabriel’s eyes. 

“It shows me,” He trails off, looking down at the floor. “That maybe going to school is something I should have allowed you to do.”

Adrien’s eyes widen, and he looks at his father. He is positive that he misheard, so he shakily says, “W-what?”

“I think you should go to school.” Gabriel says. “Out of the house.”

Adrien feels his heart soar. He wasn’t in trouble? This had to be a joke, right? Wait, that couldn’t be it. His father didn’t have a sense of humor. 

“So, I’ll be able to go to school?” He clarifies.

Gabriel sighs deeply. “How many times would you like me to say it?” 

“I’m going to be able to go to school.” Adrien murmurs to himself. “Yes! I have to tell Chloe, she’ll be so-”

“No.” Gabriel’s voice cut off Adrien’s murmurs. “You will not be going to school with…  _ Chloe _ .” He says as if she hasn’t been Adrien’s best friend since they were kids.

“Then… where will I be going?” Adrien asks softly.

“There have been arrangements for you to go off to a boys boarding school in London.” 

That was basically when Adrien felt his entire world crash around him. “What?” He whispers. “Is this because I ran away. I promise I won’t do that again.”

Gabriel sighs. “I do not know if you will ever do this again Adrien, and I need-” He cuts off, taking a deep breath. “I need you to be safe.” 

“What do you think is going to happen if I walk out of the house? It’s not like Paris is super dangerous!” Adrien pleads.

“Enough!” This time, Gabriel does raise his voice. “There is no discussion about this. You  _ will  _ be going to that boarding school. Enough said.”

Adrien feels like the wind had been knocked out of him. He was leaving. Leaving the place he’s grown up in. Practically the only place he’s ever been. 

“When will I be leaving?” He whispers, his voice hoarse.

“Now.” Gabriel says, and Adrien sees his vision tunnel. “The sooner the better.”

Was this really happening? Was his father really sending him away, just because of one mistake?

“Now, go to your room, and pack everything you’ll need for at least a few days. I’ll have Nathalie send the rest of your things later.”

Adrien practically sprints away as soon as his father opens the office door. He ignores the wild look that Gorille is giving him, and the sadness in Nathalie’s stare. It was just too much. This was all too much. 

Adrien enters his room, his back against the door for a second. 

What should he do? What  _ could  _ he do? He could try to run away, but Gorille would find him eventually. Maybe Chloe could give him a place to stay for a little? No, that would be too obvious. 

Adrien’s mind whirred, before a knock at his door broke his train of thought. “Adrien?” Nathalie asks from the other side. “Can I come in?”

He couldn’t say no to her. He’d practically known her since birth, and after his mom had vanished, she’d been the closest to a mother figure he had.

When Nathalie steps in, her eyes gaze into his with sadness. A kind of resigned indignance that left a pit in Adrien’s stomach. What had caused her to look like that?

“Your father wants to make sure that you’re packed.” She breaths. 

Adrien nods slowly, not really feeling anything. His body moves without his brain's permission. He takes all of the things he needs for a few days, which is some clothes, a few precious books that Nathalie had given him, toiletries, a picture of his mother, and a strange box that he noticed on his coffee table. 

Nathalie is still standing by the door, head down. “I have everything.” He mumbles. She nods slowly, before pulling him into a hug. 

“Be safe.” She whispers into his ear. 

“I will.” He sighs into her shoulder. 

She nods again, before taking his bag, and leading him to the car. This was really happening. He was really leaving. 

The car moves out of the familiarity of Paris, and Adrien feels sadness at his leaving the only place he’d ever known. 

Unknown to him, however, a danger _ does  _ appear in Paris. 

Far away from Adrien’s car, a large monster of stone rampages through the city. And a black spotted super heroine appears, waiting for a promised partner that never arrives.


	2. I Can Hear You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY <3<3<3

_ 12 years later... _

“Sara! Come get your breakfast before it gets cold!” She yells up to her daughter. She knew from experience to keep a good schedule with little kids and school. Last thing she wanted was for her daughter to have a routine like she had. 

The all nighters, sleeping through her alarm, and reprimands from her teachers still made the young woman shudder. 

“Sorry, mommy!” Sara giggles as she hops down the steps. “I was trying to find my ladybug earrings.” 

“Of course you were.” Marinette sighs, placing her daughter’s toast in front of her. Only the best for her little bug. 

Sara was showing off the bright red piercings, tucking her long, black hair behind her ears in the process. 

“Are you ready for your first day of pre-k?” Marinette asks the little girl. She stands behind Sara, braiding her hair. 

Sara nods eagerly, causing Marinette to accidentally yank it in her braiding process. “Sorry, bug.” She murmurs. 

“Is daddy and Kagami gonna be there?” Sara asks, swinging her legs in boredom. 

Marinette hesitates. “Maybe. I think they’re still in Japan, though.” 

“Hmm.” Sara sighs, and Marinette feels incredibly guilty. She isn’t sure why, seeing as she’s not the one that’s not there. But what else are you supposed to feel when your daughter looks so sad at something you said?

“Are you excited for work?” 

Marinette smiles. It was her first day in the office in what felt like forever. Because Luka spent most of his summer on tour, and Sara was home all day, Marinette made sure to do as much work as she could from home. 

Mari nods. “Yeah, I am.” She says, and she wasn’t totally lying, but she wasn’t exactly telling the truth either. 

Her first day back, and she had a big meeting today. She didn’t usually mind meetings, but the person she was meeting  _ with _ was someone she would feel better not talking to  _ ever _ , let alone today.

“Okay, finish your breakfast, then we’ll be on our way.” Marinette says, lightly rubbing her baby girl’s back. 

Mari’s phone rings as she turns away, and she picks it up on the second ring. 

“Hey, girl!” Alya calls. 

Marinette smiles at her best friend’s voice. “Hey, babes!” 

“How’s my munchkin doing?” Alya asks immediately. Sometimes Marinette was pretty sure Alya only liked her for Sara. 

“She’s eating nutella toast, how do you think she’s doing?” Marinette raises an eyebrow at Sara.

“How are you doing?” Alya asks softly. She was the only person that knew the impending doom that was coming to crash down on Marinette.

She sighs, leaning against her kitchen island. “Totally dreading this meeting. It’s gonna be  _ so _ awkward.”

“Why? I mean, it’s not like he  _ knows _ you’re the woman that sent his dad to prison.” Alya answers.

Mari shakes her head. “He’s not in prison, he’s currently in court.  _ Today _ . He’s in court, and his son is in a meeting about the merging of our two companies!”

She speaks low and fast, making sure that Sara isn’t paying attention as she rants to her best friend. Marinette doesn’t want her daughter to have to worry about what was going on in her life. Sara should be able to live the easygoing life every other four year old got to live. 

Just because her mother was Ladybug didn’t change that.

“Just say you’re sorry, and move on. You’re making way too much out of this.” Alya advises the fashion designer. 

Marinette nods slowly. “Yeah, yeah. You’re probably right. You’re gonna be at the trial, right?” It was a big moment, and if Marinette wasn’t able to be there, she would feel better if her best friend  _ was  _ there.

“Oh yeah, not missing that.” Alya exclaims. “I’m gonna  _ make sure  _ that jackass is behind bars.”

Just as Marinette is about to explain to her friend that she actually had no say in the trial, a small voice asks, “Who are you talking to?” Mari looks up to see Sara, now finished her breakfast and already getting bored.

“Auntie Alya.” Marinette answers. 

Sara’s reaction was immediate. Her blue eyes immediately brighten, and her smile widens to a scary degree. 

“Hold up, Als. Someone wants to talk to you.” Marinette laughs into the phone. She hands the device to her daughter, before heading to the closet to slip into her work shoes. Heels. She  _ hated  _ heels.

She feels a small yanking at the bottom of her blazer, and Sara is standing behind her, handing the phone back.

“Hey, Alya. We have to head out.” Marinette sighs, handing Sara her light pink sweater.

“Okay. I’ll call you after the trial. Maybe we can have a group dinner night?” Alya asks, and Marinette thinks she can hear the rustling of fabric over the line. She was sure Alya was getting ready to leave the house just as much as she was.

“Sounds great, love you!” She calls. After getting a corresponding goodbye, she hangs up, and grabs Sara’s hand. “You ready, sweetie?”

Sara nods, her eyes bright and filled with determination. “Yup!” 

Marinette laughs softly, placing her favorite purse around her shoulder. “That’s my girl.” 

*

“Tikki?” Marinette asks, her fingers drumming on her wooden desk. 

The little, red kwami looks up at her owner, eyes glazed over and mouth set in a straight line. Her kwami had been exceptionally distant lately, her mind always in a place that Marinette couldn’t follow.

“Yeah, Marinette?” Tikki asks softly, her big eyes still glassy.

Marinette gently moves her hand to her kwami’s head. “Are you feeling alright? Should I take you to Master Fu?”

Tikki sighs, looking away from her chosen. “No. He can’t do anything to help.”

“You never know if you don’t try.” Mari tries. That brings a small smile to the little kwami’s face. 

“Thanks for trying, Mari. But, it’s not a problem that can easily be fixed.” Tikki says. She then looks back at Marinette, a forced smile in place. “Are you ready for your meeting.”

Marinette laughs. “Absolutely not.”

Tikki shakes her head at Marinette. “Come on! You’ve got this! I doubt it’s gonna be as weird as you think it will be.”

A knock on the door accompanies the small, red kwami’s words. “Mlle Dupain-Cheng?” A muffled voice calls. 

Marinette sighs, smoothing out her skirt and watching Tikki hide in her purse. “Yes?”

Gregory, Marinette’s newest assistant, walks in. His eyes are downcast in a look of respect. Mari already has a feeling that he’s gonna work out. 

“Your ten o’clock appointment has arrived.” He says softly. “He is currently in the conference room.”

Marinette pastes a smile on her lips. “Thank you, Gregory.” 

She adjusts her blazers, smooths out her skirt once again, and quickly drags her fingers through her dark locks. Marinette walks, slowly at first to get her bearings with the added few inches of height her heels give her.

The  _ last  _ thing she needed was to make this meeting more awkward by tripping over her own two feet.

Something that she has done on more than one occasion.

Marinette opens the conference door, feeling incredibly exposed by the glass it was made up of. 

One other person was in the room. He wasn’t facing her, so all she could see was a head of golden blonde hair. 

_ He has nice hair _ , Marinette thinks to herself.  _ In a totally professional, I-can-see-how-he-was-a-model type of way.  _

The gentle thump of the door swinging shut behind her alerted him of her presence. The man turns around in his chair, and she is met with bright green eyes. 

_ At least he doesn’t look like his dad _ . That was like a candle in a blizzard, but it offered some relief all the same.

“M Agreste.” She greets, watching him stand up and offering her hand to him. “My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

His eyes crinkle and he lets out a soft laugh. He cups her hand in his much bigger one, and she can feel a small surge. Almost like a shock of electricity. “M Agreste was my father. Please, call me Adrien.”


	3. But I Won't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY <3<3<3

Sara squeals and wiggles as Chloe tickles her. Her long forgotten slice of pizza was placed on Alya’s coffee table by a weary Marinette. Honestly, she was more concerned about the food falling than the residents of the house were.

“Chlo, lay off the kid.” Nino laughs, taking a sip of his soda. 

Chloe stops her torture for a second, looking in deep thought. “Hmm…” She murmurs, before gripping the little girl tightly, and continuing her assault. “Never!”

Alya giggles, gently holding on to her bulbous stomach. “Come on, Nino! She’s a big school girl now! She can fight her own battles!”

Sara, in between her fits of laughter, manages to stick her tongue out at her aunt. The traitor.

Sara finally pushes herself away from Chloe, running into the kitchen while the blonde chases after her. Marinette winces as the two slip and slide across the floors.

“I’m sorry.” Marinette sighs.

Nino laughs. “If we can’t handle Sara, I doubt how we’ll be able to handle one that is half Alya.”

Alya punches her husband’s bicep. “Hey! Fair, but hey!” 

Nino rubs where he was attacked. “Okay, okay. Anyways, how was your day, Mari?” 

Marinette’s smile falters for a second. Right. She hadn’t disclosed the events of her meeting to anyone else but Alya yet. 

“I had a meeting.” She says, staring intently at her lap. 

Chloe, who was walking back into the room, raises an eyebrow. “Hmm. What  _ kind  _ of meeting? Perhaps, a… romantic meeting?” She asks, the corner of her mouth moving up in a suggestive smirk.

Marinette rolls her eyes. “No!” She yells, maybe a bit too loud. But, honestly, she was getting kind of tired of her friend not backing off her romantic life, or lack-there-of.

Nino rolls his eyes. “Lay off her, Chloe. What was your meeting about, Marinette?” The designer looks at her best friend, who just gives her a small smile, and a one sided shrug.

She closes her eyes. Better to just rip the bandage off, right? “Um… I… I was working on a merging between MDC and… another company.” Or that. She could always do that too.

“Which company?” Chloe asks, sitting down and immediately leaning forward in interest.

She blinks, takes in a deep breath, and answers, “Gabriel.”

The silence was deafening. There was a tension in the air that could be cut with a knife, just waiting for someone to break it.

“I thought you refused to merge.” Chloe murmurs. 

Marinette sighs, pinching her nose. “I did… but after Gabriel was sent to prison, they made another offer. And, I just  _ couldn’t  _ refuse this one.”

“Why not?” Chloe asks, staring deeply into the brunette’s eyes. Her tone wasn’t totally accusatory, but there was a touch of hurt in her voice that Marinette couldn’t quite ignore. 

Marinette sighs, throwing her head back. “There were so many jobs on the line. No one wants to buy from Gabriel anymore-”

“For good reason.” Chloe inserts.

“And with them losing one of their top designers, sales have been even worse. I made a deal with the CEO to put it under the MDC brand, let everyone keep their jobs… I just wanted to help.” She sighs, feeling pretty terrible at that moment.

Alya lightly places an arm on Marinette’s shoulder. “It’s okay. We get it.” She glares in Chloe’s direction. “Don’t we?”

Chloe softly nods. “Yeah. We get it. You were just doing what you thought was right.”

“Who’s running Gabriel anyway?” Nino asks, eager to turn the topic of conversation away from the awkwardness. “Nathalie?” 

Marinette sighs again, but this time it’s tinged in sadness. “No. She’s in intensive care like every week.” Nearly ten years of wielding the peacock miraculous had caused damage for the older woman. “Um, the company went to Gabriel’s son…”

“Adrien is back in town?” Chloe asks, leaning forward, yet again intrigued in the conversation.

“Wait, Hawk dude has a son?” Nino questions, eyebrows furrowed. “What poor soul had the misfortune to get stuck with that guy as a son?”    
  


Alya snickers behind her hand. “You remember that blonde kid from those perfume ads that were all over the city for almost two years?”

Nino starts laughing, before sobering up. “Wait, seriously? Gabriel did that to his own kid?” Everyone nods morosely. “Damn.”

“I haven’t seen him in forever.” Chloe notes, crossing her ankles together. “How is he?” 

Marinette shrugs. “He seems good. Funny. Charming. Cute.”

Chloe tilts her head. “Cute?” She raises an eyebrow. 

Marinette opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. She gulps, before giving a forced chuckle. “You know, in a  _ professional  _ way. He was a model. I can… appreciate…” Everyone is just staring at her amusedly. “Look, the guy is an utter jerk, but he makes attractive kids!” 

Alya facepalms, and then places a hand on her best friend’s shoulder. “Just stop sweetie. You’re not helping yourself.”

Chloe waggles her eyebrows. “Do I smell romance in the air?”

Marinette laughs, and rolls her eyes. “No. I can tell you, I absolutely have no interest in Adrien Agreste.”

And, in that moment, Marinette truly believed what she was telling to her friends.

*

Marinette hums under breath as she stitches up her newest design. She had put Sara to bed an hour ago, and was now finishing up the purse she had been keeping in her closet for way too long.

As she is adding some embroidered detail to the fabric, she hears some noise from Sara’s room. Tilting her head, Marinette stands up, pushing the chair she was sitting in in the process.

“Sara?” She asks, lightly knocking on her daughter’s bedroom door. 

She hears movement in the other room. The sound of feet flying across the floor. The rumpling of bedsheets. And the unmistakable sound of a window slamming shut. 

Marinette twists the door knob, and enters the shadowy room. Sara is in bed, her eyes clamped shut, and her breathing exaggeratingly slow.

“Bug?” Mari asks, walking to the side of her daughter’s bed. “Hmm, guess she didn’t want this cupcake I made her…”

Sara’s eyes immediately fly open. “Yes?” She asks.

“I thought you went to sleep an hour ago.” Marinette sighs, sitting on the edge of the little bed.

Sara purses her lips. “I was… and then I made a new friend!” 

Marinette genty shuts her eyes, placing a hand on her forehead. Sara has always had an active imagination, and the imaginary friends were nothing new. “And is that why you opened your window?”

The little girl looks bashful, her eyes flicking down. “It was a little stuffy. I just opened it for a second, but then I saw him outside my window.”

“Saw who?” Marinette asks, a panic settling in her chest. After more than a decade of fighting villains, it was safe to say that Marinette was more than a little justifiably paranoid.

Sara breaks into a grin. “His name is Chat Noir!” She giggles. 

“He’s a cat?” Marinette asks, her eyebrows raising. 

Sara tilts her head to the side. “Maybe. He wasn’t too clear on that part. But he has really bright, green eyes, and a little golden bell!”

“Okay…” Marinette sighs, letting out a deep breath. “I think it’s time to go to bed. You can tell me all about your new friend in the morning.”

“And my cupcake?” Sara asks, her big blue eyes widening to look nearly Tikki-esque.

Mari rolls her eyes. “Fall asleep right now, and then we’ll talk.”

Sara nods, her head falling back onto the pillows. “Stay with me, mommy?”

Marinette smiles down at her baby girl, curling up besides her, and crawling under the covers as well. “Of course, bug. Always.”

And they fall asleep like that, Marinette holding her child, and Sara’s mind filled with her new friend. Chat Noir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm...


	4. Some Look For Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY <3<3<3

“She’s worrying me.” Marinette says in an undertone to her mentor. Her and Fu were sitting on his mat, sipping on tea. Tikki and Wayzz were somewhere else, drinking their own brew. Probably for the best.

Fu waves his hand. “Children are difficult. But Sara is a remarkable child, I’m sure she’s just-”

Marinette puts her hand out to stop Fu. “No, no, no. I wasn’t talking about Sara, and no offense but I would probably talk to anyone else but you about my daughter.”

Fu looks offended. “And why is that?”

“Weren’t you the guy that had the bright idea to send a fourteen year old after every bad guy that has come out for more than a decade.”

Fu humphs. “You weren’t always fourteen,” He mutters.

“I was actually talking about Tikki.” Marinette says, trying to placate the old man. “She’s been acting pretty strange lately.”

“Strange how?” He asks, pouring himself some more tea.

Marinette looks around, almost as if she was scared that her little friend was floating right behind her. “She has been looking kind of dazed recently. She hasn’t really been talking all that much. She’s even started eating really rare cheese.” 

Fu huffs out a laugh at that last part. “Of course.” He mutters to himself.

“Do you know what’s wrong?”

He sighs, looking into Marinette’s eyes. “Tikki is going through a separation.”

Marinette just blinks at the old man. “Are you trying to say that my kwami is going through a break up?” She asks dubiously. “I didn’t even realize that she was seeing anyone.”

Fu shakes his head. “Yes, and no. Tikki is still  _ with  _ her companion, but she isn’t currently  _ with  _ him.” 

Marinette scrunches her eyebrows. “I have absolutely no idea what you just said.”

“It’s hard to explain. Tikki has essentially been with her friend since… the beginning of time. They have been apart longer than they ever have before, and it’s causing some strain on her.” 

Marinette raises an eyebrow. “Who? Who is this person?”

Fu purses his lips. “I don’t think that’s up to me to tell you. Tikki will explain all when she is ready.”

Marinette shakes her head. “You know, it’s vague crap like that that makes me not want to come to you for advice.”

She groans as she stands up, her suit pants not being made for sitting down on a mat for a long period of time. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go pick Sara up from school.”

“Her father still isn’t back in town?” Fu asks, taking a sip of his scalding tea. He nearly spits the liquid back in his cup from the temperature.

Mari shakes her head, both at her master’s antics and his actions. “No, he’s still on tour, and Kagami’s a world champion… I just hope he’s back soon. Sara’s been kind of off without seeing him for too long.”

“You should bring her around here sometime. I miss the child.” Fu smiles at her, as he too stands up.

“Hmm,” Marinette hums. “We’ll see about that Mr. Indistinct. Come on, Tikki, we have to go!” 

The red kwami comes forward, hurrying into her chosen’s purse. “Bye, Wayzz! Bye, master!” She squeaks as they leave the room.

Fu stands beside his kwami, and sighs. “Wayzz, you don’t think that I’m vague or indistinct, do you?” 

Wayzz purses his lips together. “I do not think that you want me to answer that, Master.” 

*

“Mommy! Mommy!” Sara yells, running towards Marinette as soon as she sees her. 

Marinette huffs out a laugh when the little bundle of nerves that was her daughter runs into her legs. “Hey bug.” She giggles, wrapping her arms around the little girl.

“I made you this.” Sara says, offering a bright pink piece of paper to her mother. Mari takes the sheet of construction paper, and smiles at her daughter’s work of art.

It was a ladybug. How nonchalant. 

Marinette gives Sara a fond smile at the thoughtful gesture. “How sweet.”

Sara nods. “Chat gave me the idea.” She giggles, before showing off another piece of paper. This one was bright green. It looked like a black chat with a bunch of bananas placed on top of his head.

“I’m sure he’ll love it.” Marinette assures the child, and Sara jumps for joy yet again. Marinette offers her hand to Sara, and the two girls start walking towards their house.

Just then, a honk is heard behind them. Marinette spins around and sees a familiar blue car. Beside the car are even more familiar figures.

“Daddy! Kagami!” Sara screams, running towards her father and soon-to-be step-mother. The rockstar easily scoops up the tiny girl. 

Marinette runs up to her friends, and is immediately dragged into a hug by Kagami. Oh, how she missed Kagami. “Ahh! You’re back!”

“Yes, we are.” Kagami answer, smiling widely at her. The two girls had become friends after Kagami had entered a contest on Friendship Day. Her mother had been akumatized, and Marinette had not only gotten a great friend, but a new superhero in Ryuuko. 

“I missed you.” Sara mumbles into Luka’s neck. 

“When did you guys get back?” Mari asks, giving Luka a side hug to avoid crushing their daughter.

“Just last night.” He answers, still holding Sara closely. It seems that her feelings were well reciprocated by the older man.

Marinette smiles at her daughter, and then says. “Why don’t we head back to my place, I can fix us up some snacks and we can catch up?”

Everyone nods in agreement, continuing the short walk back to Marinette’s apartment complex. For the first time in forever, everything seems to be going pretty well.

And that’s when the screams can be heard. They all stop in their tracks, each of the superheroes well adept at that sound. 

People are running their way, crowding the already congested streets.

Marinette stops one passerby by her shoulders, and tries to still the frantic woman. “What’s wrong?” She asks, panic creeping up her throat. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.

“It’s a- a- a-” The woman tries to get out, but a nearby explosion cuts her off. She runs away, and Marinette can feel her heart drop to her throat at what she sees. 

A brightly dressed, powered up woman, causing chaos as she continues moving forward. “I am Cutastrophe!” She yells, before making a slicing motion at a car and cutting it into two. “I am here for Ladybug’s miraculous.”

“Marinette?” She hears Tikki’s voice float out of her purse. “What’s happening.”

“It’s happening again. There’s another akuma.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days! Woo! Until next time!


	5. While Others Don't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY <3<3<3

Marinette had, after making sure Luka and Kagami would watch over Sara, ran to the nearest alley. This couldn’t be happening. Why was this happening? 

“Marinette,” Tikki whispers. “Breathe.” 

Marinette slowly nods, taking a few deep breaths. The last thing she needed was to pass out from lack of oxygen. Again.

“Are you okay?” Tikki asks, pressing her paw to Mari’s cheek.

She nods again. “Yeah. Thanks, Tikki.” Marinette slumps against the brick wall of the alley, before squaring her shoulders. “Okay, Tikki! Spots on!” 

As soon as Marinette was in her Ladybug costume, she felt invincible. It was a good thing too, because Marinette was mostly only in danger when she was in costume in the first place.

She sighs, quickly flipping open her yoyo phone, and clicking on Chloe’s contact information. She picks up on the first ring. 

“Mari? Where are you?” Chloe’s voice is fast and frantic. 

Marinette sighs. “I’m, like, right by the akuma. I’m gonna need help.” 

There is a swishing sound that makes Marinette think that Chloe is nodding her head. “Got it.”

“Can you also stop by Fu’s place and get Wayzz from him? Call Nino, he’s gonna be needed.” 

“Aye aye, Ladybug!” Chloe answers. Marinette fondly shakes her head at her friend’s antics, before hanging up. No need to leave the citizens in any extra danger.

Ladybug swings towards the ranting akuma victim. Of course she’s ranting. They  _ always  _ rant.

“Oh, Ladybug! How sweet of you to join us!” Cutastrophe laughs, sickly sweet, clapping her hands together. 

“Hmm, that isn’t the word I would use.” Ladybug muses, her yoyo hanging limply by her side. “Necessary, yes. But sweet? Not really.”

Cutastrophe rolls her eyes. “Aw, now you’ve hurt my feelings. You’ll pay for that.” And she makes a slicing motion with her hands. 

Ladybug swings away, up to the nearest rooftop. A tree right in front of where she was standing is now split in two, the top half precariously on top of the bottom.

“That was close.” A familiar voice notes to Ladybug’s left. She has long ago learned to not be scared by her friends’ silent entrances. It happened enough for her to get used to it.

Ladybug shrugs. “I’ve had closer calls.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Carapace murmurs, off to her right side. “What have we got?” 

“A villain named Cutastrophe. She has the ability to… you guessed it! Cut.” Ladybug deadpans. 

Queen Bee rolls her eyes, facepalming. “They really don’t get any better do they?”

“How is this even happening. I thought Hawkdude was in prison.” Nino murmurs, his eyes not leaving the brightly colored woman far below. 

Marinette shudders. They may have turned Gabriel into the authorities, but there was one thing they still hadn’t managed to succeed in after all this time.

They still hadn’t managed to find the butterfly miraculous. Or, more precisely, Marinette hadn’t been able to find it.

“That’s not the point right now.” Chloe cuts in, sending a worried glance to her spotted friend. “We have to stop her from… doing whatever it is she wants to accomplish. I don’t really care.”

Marinette takes a deep breath, and points downward. “Okay, Queen Bee you get her from the right, Carapace you go to the left. Chlo, I’m gonna need you to use your venom on her. That way we can find where the akuma is without risk of being cut.” 

“Got it!” They both chime, and go in their places. Marinette takes her spot in front of Cutastrophe. 

“Hey!” She yells, and the woman looks in her direction. “You can tell whatever fashion reject that is controlling you that that outfit is definitely a no-go!” 

Cutastrophe narrows her eyes. “Why you…” She raises both of her arms, preparing to do the cutting motion, but Carapace grabs her left arm. A shout of ‘Venom’ is heard before Chloe stabs her stinger into Cutastrophe’s right arm.

The akuma makes a grunting sound, but she freezes in place all the same. 

Ladybug steps forward, checking Cutastrophe’s costume. She notices a dark gem at the base of her throat. It had been shining when she was cutting things. That must be where she gets her powers. 

Ladybug grabs the gem, throws it to the ground, and jumps on it. 

Usually, she’d expect the thing to break underfoot. But, instead, the gem is still completely intact when she lifts it up again. 

“What happened?” Carapace asks, still holding on to Cutastrophe’s arm.

“It… didn’t break.”

Queen Bee furrows her eyebrows. “Maybe that means… it’s not the akuma?” 

“Or it means that it is.” Carapace groans. Ladybug was with him.

There’d only been a handful of times when the akumas were not easily broken. They were the worst types of villains, and they usually took forever.

Marinette shakes her head, and calls for her lucky charm. Maybe that would give her some clues on what to do with the strange gem on the ground. 

She catches the red and black spotted bowl in her hands, and stares at it for a second. 

Marinette didn’t see anything that she could use it for, and it wasn’t even a familiar bowl that would lead her to Master Fu’s house. 

With both the gem and bowl in hand, Ladybug paces around until she is near the front of an alleyway. “LB!” Queen Bee yelps, and Marinette spins around.

The venom had apparently worn off on Cutastrophe, and she had flipped both of Marinette’s companions over her shoulders.

Sighing, Marinette places the items in her hands on the ground, and runs towards the villain. She dodges some cuts aimed her way, sometimes wincing when the power would get something that used to be where Marinette had been.

Carapace and Queen Bee stand back up as well, and they each try to stop the woman. Right when all three superheroes are about to jump at her, she turns back to normal in a flurry of dark purple.

“Wha- what happened?” The woman asks, her head in her hands. Thankfully, she doesn’t notice the three superheroes nearly tripping over themselves to stop from tackling her.

“What  _ did  _ happen?” Queen Bee asks, staring at the woman as if she has three heads. 

Marinette whirls around, finding the place where she’d left her lucky charm. It wasn’t just like she had placed it.

The bowl was flipped upside down, and a pile of ash was off to the side of it. 

Ladybug turns the bowl right side up, and a dark purple butterfly flutters out of it. Out of instinct, Marinette grabs her yoyo, and captures the akuma. It flies out once more, all brilliantly white.

“Ladybug?” Carapace asks, walking towards her. “What happened?” 

Marinette pokes at the pile of ash that she had been staring at for she doesn’t even know how long. The crumbs swirl around her fingers, and she wipes the powder off of her gloved hands.

She picks up the bowl and calls out “Miraculous Ladybug”. When that is finished, she finally turns back to her companions.

Her eyes are wide, and she’s still staring at where the gem had previously been. “I have absolutely no idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O_O


	6. There's A Thousand Reasons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

“So it just… disappeared?” Alix asks incredulously, her red hair flying behind her. She’d been pacing ever since she’d practically knocked Marinette’s door down after the ‘SOS’ text had been sent out.

“No.” Nino answers, leaning against the back of the loveseat Alya was sitting on. “It turned to ash.”

Kim raises an eyebrow. “It just turned to ash? Like, Cutastrophe didn’t accidentally slice it?” 

“No.” Marinette answers, the first words she’d uttered since all of her friends had answered her emergency message. 

“How are you so sure?” Max asks, his head leaning on Kim’s shoulder.

Marinette purses her lips together, her hand absentmindedly rubbing circles on Tikki’s head. Neither kwami nor chosen had been particularly chatty that day. “Because someone had put my lucky charm over the butterfly so it didn’t get away. It was no accident that it was destroyed.”

Alix peers closely at Marinette. “Do you know who might have done it?”

Marinette shakes her head. She truthfully had no idea what happened. It was as much a mystery to her as it was to the rest of her friends. But, ever since she’d discovered the overturned bowl, there was a nagging in the back of her head that she just couldn’t erase.

“That’s not even the worst of our problems.” Kagami points out, her arms crossed, and sending worried looks in Marinette’s direction.

Sabrina nods hurriedly, wrapping one of her hands in Chloe’s. “Kagami is right. We have a new Hawkmoth on the loose?” 

“Apparently.” Chloe growls, her eyes set on the coffee table in front of her. Her girlfriend lightly rubs circles on her back.

“How did this happen?” Nathaniel asks. “I thought Mayura returned the miraculouses.”

Marinette winces. “No. Mayura returned the peacock miraculous. But… Gabriel managed to hide the butterfly miraculous before I could return it to the miracle box.”

Everyone becomes silent, looking at their leader. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Kim asks. “We could have helped you, Mari-”

“Yeah, well you helped enough in helping me bring in Gabriel Agreste. Anything else just seemed… like too much.” Marinette bites out, still not making eye contact with any of her friends.

Alya steps forward, wrapping her arms around her friend. “Hey. You know, any of us would’ve helped you in a second. No matter what. I think I can speak for all of us here when I say that you are never a bother.” 

The rest of the group hums their agreement. Marinette nods lightly, but their assurances do nothing to stop the endless doubts surging through her head.

“Yeah, well that’s the past. Now, we have to deal with the fact that someone else managed to get their hands on the butterfly miraculous and we have a new Hakwmoth or whatever this new villain is calling themself.” Marinette sighs.

Mylene looks around. “So… we’re not done?”

Marinette shakes her head, standing up and starting to wear through her hardwood floors. “No.  _ I’m  _ not done. You guys  _ can _ be.”

“Marinette?” Nathaniel says softly, his eyebrows lifting up.

“No. I can’t stop being Ladybug right now. It’s my fault that there is another supervillain running around. You guys can start your lives. You don’t have to be held down by the miraculous anymore.” Marinette rants, not daring to look up at the assembled superheroes.

“That…” Chloe starts, standing up. “Is the dumbest shit you have ever said, and  _ that’s  _ saying something!” 

“Bu-”

“No, Marinette!” Alya jumps in, standing beside Chloe. “I just told you that we aren’t going to leave you, and that stays the truth. We all knew what we were getting into, and we still do! But, as long as you are still having to deal with all this, so are we!”

“Yeah,” Nino adds, placing a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “You think we all stuck around this long because of the ‘awesome’ costume designs?”

“Yeah!” Alix offers. “You aren’t getting rid of us that easily Dupain-Cheng.”

“We’re with you for the long run!” Kim exclaims. Him and Max stand hand in hand along with the rest of the crowd of friends.

Marinette feels her eyes water at her friends’ actions. How had she been lucky enough to have such a great team?

Marinette smiles at them. “Okay, okay. I get it. We’re all in this together and other inspirational Disney quotes. How about I make everyone dinner, and we can plan another meeting later this week?” 

“Yes! I’m starving!” Alya and Ivan both say at the same time. Their respective spouses roll their eyes at the two. 

*

Hours later, Marinette tosses and turns in bed. No matter what she tried, she just couldn’t bring herself to get comfortable. 

“Mari? You okay?” Tikki asks from her side of the bed. Yes, Marinette had a designated spot in her bed for her Kwami. So what?

Marinette hums, gently lifting her head up. “Yeah, Tikki. I just…” How was she supposed to explain it? She felt like a part of her was missing even though everyone she loved had been right there. She felt a nagging in her head to start moving even though she was bone tired. She had the sudden urge to go looking for something she hadn’t even been aware was missing.

That seemed hard to put into words, even when it came to Tikki. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She lies. Marinette knows Tikki can tell she’s lying. The young woman hadn’t even been this uncomfortable the first time Sara had gone to stay at Luka’s. Though, her daughter’s current absence surely wasn’t helping her feelings. 

Tikki’s face clears up, and her big, blue eyes fill with sympathy. “You feel it don’t you?”

Marinette has no idea how Tikki can tell, or how she even knows what her Kwami was talking about, but she answers honestly. 

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so we're getting somewhere, maybe. Comments and Kudos are always appreciated! 
> 
> Also, if any of you are in the Lucifer fandom did you see the new trailer, 'cause I'm firmly set in denial, thank you very much :D
> 
> Til next time <3<3<3


	7. I Should Go About My Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, enjoy!

“Hey, Als. What’s up?” Marinette asks her best friend, phone squeezed between her shoulder and ear. She had twenty minutes before a meeting between her and some Agreste officials.

She hears a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, and immediately straightens her spine. Something wasn’t right. “Alya?”

“I’m at the trial.” Was all Alya needed to say. Marinette immediately stands up, her shoulders tense. “It’s… it’s not looking good, Mari.”

Marinette shakes her head. “What do you mean ‘it’s not looking good’? How could they actually believe he isn’t guilty?”

Alya sighs. “They’re saying… because none of the damage from any of the akumas was lasting…”

_ No. No, no, no, no, no.  _ Marinette laughs hollowly, her mind whirring. “Only because Ladybug was always there!” 

“I know. I know.” Alya says placatingly. “It’s not just that. Because of the new Hawkmoth appearance, theirs doubt. Doubt that he did it.”

“I was there!” Marinette yells, and she just knows that Gregory can hear her. “I  _ saw  _ him detransform! The only reason I couldn’t find the miraculous is because he hid it somewhere in his house before I could get it!” 

Alya sighs. “Marinette, I get it. I’m just as upset as you are.”

Marinette is shaking. This couldn’t be happening. This just  _ couldn’t  _ be happening. “This man took away my childhood!” She snaps. “He took advantage of children! I literally once saw him akumatize a kid because of a  _ bad dream _ , Alya!”

“Mari, I’m just telling you the facts. It’s not looking good.” Alya admits, and Marinette slumps into her office chair. 

Marinette nods. “Okay… um, thank you, Alya.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie.” Alya whispers into the phone. 

“Me too.” Marinette answers, squeezing her temples. 

Once Alya hangs up, Marinette nearly breaks down. Oh wait, she couldn’t do that for risk of getting akumatized. 

It was like a never ending cycle that she was never going to outrun. Marinette had been so ready to leave this life. Retire. Be happy, and finally be allowed to express her emotions.

She felt like she was fifteen again. So much going on, and not being able to  _ breathe _ under the weight of it all. 

A knock at the door breaks Marinette out of her reverie, and she mumbles out a quick. “Come in!” 

She expects Gregory to come in, reminding her of the important meeting that she should be attending. Instead, someone that she was neither expecting or wanting to see at the moment entered her office.

“Um, Marinette?” Adrien Agreste asks, eyes searching hers. “I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second?”

Marinette forces a smile on to her face. “Yeah. Fine. That’s fine.”

Adrien enters the room, and tilts his head at her. “Are you okay?” 

She nods, though her shoulders are still stiff. “Um, yeah… just… a little tired.”

Adrien nods shortly, obviously too focused on other things to notice her discomfort. “So… I know this is really short notice, but do you mind if I miss the meeting today?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “That is… really short notice. Is everything okay?” 

Adrien looks away. “No.” He admits. “I have something important to do. Not that this isn’t important!” He rushes out nervously. “But it just came up, and… I can’t miss it.”

Marinette nods. “Yeah. That’s fine. I was actually considering rescheduling the meeting anyways.”

“Why’s that?” Adrien asks, wringing his hands. Marinette briefly wonders if he had picked that habit from his father. 

“Um… there’s just a lot of tensions and stress running around. Especially with yesterday…”

“The akuma attack.” Adrien answers, looking down at his lap.

“Yeah.” Marinette answers. “How did you handle it? I mean, it was your first, right?”

Adrien laughs, though his eyes lack amusement. “Yeah, and it was… an experience.”

“Where were you when it happened?” Marinette asks, concerned. Just because he was no longer truly hurt after the akuma, didn’t mean that he wasn’t still feeling the trauma. 

Adrien stiffens. Marinette notices. “Oh. You know…” He trails off, almost like he was thinking up an excuse. “Home.”

“Oh, where are you staying?” Now, she was interested. 

Adrien deflates a little. “Um, at the… mansion.”

Marinette stills, looking into the wide eyes of her enemy's son. “The Agreste mansion?”

Adrien just shrugs. “Where else?” Marinette looks away, her mind going into overdrive. “Um, well, I have to go.” Adrien murmurs, standing up.

“Uh, yeah. I should reschedule this meeting. Damn, the others are going to be pissed.” 

Adrien shakes his head. “Nah, I’m sure they’ll understand.” 

When he leaves the room, Marinette feels a shiver run down her spine. And it has nothing to do with the sudden influx of fresh air from the hallway.

*

Of course, Marinette didn’t actually have to reschedule the meeting. Right before she was about to send the email, an akuma alert had rung throughout the building. 

Great timing, right?

This akuma wasn’t as difficult as the other had been. Marinette had been able to pretty easily defeat them without any outside help. Ones that she knew about or otherwise.

Of course, her meeting was postponed until tomorrow, and Marinette needed to talk. She had a lot of thoughts, and no place to put them.

“Master?” Marinette asks as she barges into the room.

Fu turns around, his eyebrows furrowed. “Marinette? What are you doing here?”

“Hawkmoth is back. Or, at least the butterfly miraculous is back. I’m not completely sure who is holding it right now.” 

Master Fu nods his head. “I know. I heard about the attacks. I’m sure it’s nothing that you can’t handle, though.”

Marinette had never wanted to strangle the old man more. And that was saying something. “Are you not at all concerned?”

Master Fu shakes his head. “No. Because Hawkmoth has only ever wanted one thing, and he won’t be able to get it.” He starts taking a sip from his tea.

Marinette shakes her head. “That’s not even the reason I came here. I think I may know who Hawkmoth is, and you’re sadly the only person I can talk to right now.”

Master Fu nods, gesturing for her to continue, still sipping from his tea.

She takes a deep breath, and says the words that had been floating in her mind for an hour now. “I think that Adrien Agreste is the new Hawkmoth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got a summer job that starts on Tuesday, so my updates might be a bit more sporadic. 
> 
> Comments are always appreciated, and I hope you liked it! You can still find me on Twitter @agreste_dupain_ where I have more stories if you wanna check those out!
> 
> 'Til next time <3<3<3


	8. Ignore Your Whispers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!

Master Fu tenses, his cup freezing halfway to his mouth. “Excuse me?” He asks, his voice low and hesitant.

Marinette sighs, sitting down on the mat. “Well, Gabriel Agreste has a son. And… I think he may be Hawkmoth.”

Fu shakes his head. “I… I thought that Adrien was in London.”

“Well, he was. But he moved back to Paris to-” Marinette stops talking, giving Fu a questioning look. “How did you know he was in London?”

Fu scoffs, looking anywhere but at Marinette. “I can know things.”

“Not really.” Marinette, Wayzz, and Tikki all answer at the same time.

“Shut up!” Fu hisses at his kwami who just shrugs and gives the man a knowing look. Master Fu finally turns back to Marinette. “I looked up known associates of Gabriel once you found out he was Hawkmoth. His son was among them.”

Marinette raises an eyebrow, then shrugs. She seems to have deemed that a reasonable response, so Fu lets out a relieved sigh. _ Saved it. _

“Why do you… why do you think that Adrien is behind the new attacks?”

Marinette sighs. “We had a meeting today. And then, he comes into my office, and tells me that he has business that he  _ must  _ attend to asap.” She stares down at her lap, and fiddles with her fingers.

Fu tilts his head. “You and Adrien work together?”

Marinette nods. “We’re working on merging our companies. So, he’s gonna be in my office building for an amount of time.”

Fu strokes his goatee, “Interesting.” He muses.

Everyone in the room looks questioningly at the old man. “Anyways…” Marinette hums. If only she could say this was the weirdest thing that Fu had done in her presence. “He also seemed pretty sketchy when I asked him where he was during the akuma attack.”

Fu grunts, pursing his lips, and staring holes into the mat he was sitting on. 

“And he’s at the Agreste Mansion.” Marinette finishes, leaning back on her hands. “Which is where Gabriel hid the moth miraculous. Agreste gave his son the business, maybe he gave him the miraculous too. I mean either, to finally achieve Hawkmoth’s goal or to clear Gabriel’s name. Anything is possible.”

“That… makes sense.” Wayzz says slowly, stroking his chin. “Marinette, did you ever figure out what happened yesterday with the akumatized object?”

Marinette groans. That’s right. On top of her new business partner possibly preying on innocent people’s emotions, she  _ also  _ had to worry about that nagging feeling at the back of her head. “No. That’s just  _ another  _ problem on my ever growing list.” 

Fu looks between Wayzz and Marinette, but Wayzz gives him a look that says, ‘ _ I’ll tell you later _ ’. 

Marinette lets out a hollow laugh. “Speaking of which, I have to go pick up my daughter from school. Thanks for talking, Master.”

“Marinette, can you do me a favor?” Fu asks as the young woman stands up.

She rolls her eyes. “I’m kind of in the middle of fulfilling the last few favors you asked of me. But, what?”

“Don’t tell anyone else of your suspicions?” Fu pleads. “No need to get the rest of the team hot on the heels of a potentially innocent man.”

Marinette worries at her bottom lip. “I’ll… try my best, Master.”

Fu sighs, deflating a bit. “Thank you, Marinette. I’ll see you later.”

When she leaves the room, Fu immediately stands up, his hands clasped behind his back. “This is bad. This is so, so bad.”

Wayzz shakes his head. “I warned you about bringing the miraculous out.”

“I know you did, Wayzz.” Fu groans, pressing his temples. “What are the chances that Marinette is wrong?”

Wayzz gives the man a look, but Fu ignores it. As usual. “I mean, there’s a  _ chance _ -”

Fu nods. “That’s all I need!” The man continues to pace, before whirring around to face his kwami again. “Now, what were you talking about? What happened yesterday?”

Wayzz purses his lips. “The akumatized object wasn’t breaking. Marinette tried… but it didn’t go so well. She turned her back, and next thing she knew, the object was broken and the akuma was out.”

Fu pauses, his back straightening. “You know what happened. Don’t you?” He questions the small creature.

Wayzz looks away, his shoulders sagging. “Master… I could be wrong. But I’ve had a feeling that…” He sighs. “I believe that the cat miraculous has been activated.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! WHOO! Probably not the best, but I tried. 
> 
> Check out enchantingmari! Her works are amazing, and I love her!
> 
> Til next time <3<3<3


	9. I Wish Would Go Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!!!

“You think that Adrien Agreste is the new hawkmoth!?” Alya exclaims, her eyes wide. 

Marinette had tried, but as soon as she saw her best friend, she just couldn’t keep her theory in. She just wished that Alya hadn’t yelled that to the rest of their friend group.

“What!?” Chloe asks, raising an eyebrow. “Adrien? Agreste?”

Alix crosses her arms over her chest. “I knew it. Good looking het boys. You can’t trust ‘em.” 

Marinette glares at Alya, and the woman just gives her a sheepish smile. “Sorry.” 

“Marinette? Really? Adrien? He would never be Hawkmoth.” Chloe says, leaning closer to Sabrina. 

Nino rubs the back of his neck. “Come on, Chlo, you haven’t seen the guy in 12 years. He could’ve changed a lot.”

“Nobody changes that much!” Chloe yells, glaring.

Marinette winces. This was one of the many, many reasons that she hadn’t wanted Alya to tell the rest of Team Miraculous. “It was just a theory. Barely a theory! A hunch, at the most!” 

“It doesn’t hurt to look into every possibility.” Alya rushes to Marinette’s defense. “And, at this point, he actually is pretty likely.”

“Why do you say?” Kim asks, perking forward. 

Alya rolls her eyes. “Well, he hasn’t come to his father’s trial yet. The whole Hawkmoth situation is giving Gabriel reasonable doubt. If you think that your father isn’t going to go to jail, then why wouldn’t you agree to be a character witness?”

Chloe opens her mouth, probably to say something, but thinks better of it. Instead, she just rolls her eyes, and crosses her arms over her chest.

“Anyways!” Marinette interrupts before something bad happens. “Has anyone come up with any ideas about what happened with the akuma the other day?” 

All eyes fly to Max, and he just shakes his head. “I know of nothing that could have made the reaction that you described.”

Marinette just sighs. “It probably doesn’t mean anything anyway. I was actually able to break the object today. It must’ve been a one time thing.” 

Not even she believes what she’s saying, but nobody says anything. Instead, the room remains silent. It’s awkward, a strange sort of tension settling over them.

And then a squealing interrupts their silence.”Mommy! Mommy!” Sara yells. She barrels into Marinette’s middle and hums. “I’m hungry.”

Marinette giggles. “Oh, are you?”

She looks up at her with her big, blue eyes and nods. Marinette looks up, and sees Mylene and Ivan’s son. “What about you, Ben? Are you hungry too?”

The little boy looks nervously at his parents, and then gives her a tiny nod. Mylene was always strange about taking things from other people, and Ben was always scared to tell Marinette if he wanted something. It was a bit of a damper to Marinette who constantly gave food. 

“I’m hungry too.” Alya says, and gives Marinette the side eye. 

Mari giggles. “Alright, fine! I’ll start dinner.” 

And even as Marinette cooks, she finds her mind wandering. 

Was Adrien Agreste really the new Hawkmoth?

Where was she going to start with her search on the true culprit?

What broke the akumatized object the other day?

And, most strangely, what was with that nagging sensation at the back of her brain. 

*

It was 9 at night. Marinette was working on some embroidery, and listening to the Hamilton soundtrack. 

Helpless was just about to play for the twelfth time when an ache forms behind her eyes. She gasps, her embroidery hoop falling to her side, as her hand goes up to her forehead.

“Aah!” She hisses, jumping to her feet. 

“Marinette?” Tikki questions, surprised that her owner was not joining her for the chorus. “Are you okay?”

Marinette isn’t sure why, but she moves forward. Her body is urging her, even though she can’t quite see where she is heading. 

“Mari? I know what you’re feeling. You have to work through it.” She faintly hears Tikki behind her. But, Marinette wasn’t sure how a person could just  _ work through _ something like this. The pain was just far too intense.

She blindly reaches forward, and her hand encloses on a door knob. She takes a deep breath as the door pushes open, and her vision finally clears. 

Sara is standing by her window, hurriedly closing the curtains. She whirls around, guilt in her eyes, and her hands folded behind her back.

“Sweets? What are you doing near your window?” Marinette asks faintly, still recovering from the pain of her headache.

Sara looks down, nibbling at her bottom lip. “Chat visited again. I was talking to him. I’m sorry.” 

Marinette nods, not quite having the patience to entertain Sara’s imagination at that moment. “Okay. Just, get to bed.”

“Momma? Are you okay?” Sara asks in concern, moving closer to her mother.

Marinette gives her a faint smile. “I just have a headache. That;s all.”

Sara frowns, and then grabs Marinette’s hand. She leads the older woman to her bed, and pushes her forward. “You should sleep, Mommy.”

Marinette just shakes her head. “I’m fine, sweetie.”

Sara just shakes her head, and lays down next to her mom. “Just stay with me for a little, Momma.”

Marinette just nods, not thinking that she would fall asleep so easily.

Ten minutes later, both Dupain-Chengs are sound asleep, curled around each other, bundled under Sara’s blankets.

Little do they know, however, that a pair of green, lamplit eyes are right outside that window. A harsh headache forming behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know it's been a while, but I told you that it would be kind of difficult finding time to write recently. 
> 
> 'Til next time <3<3<3


	10. You're Not A Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!

Marinette’s legs wobble as she slides across the slippery ice. “Remind me why I agreed to this again?” Marinette asks, holding onto Chloe and Alix with dear life. 

“ _ You  _ were the one that said you weren’t scared of anything.” Chloé reminds her.

Marinette huffs. “I’m not scared. I’m  _ cautious _ . There’s a difference.”

“Not really.” Alix snickers, taking her hand off of Marinette for a millisecond, and watching the woman shriek. 

“Not funny.” Mari grumbles, glaring at her friend.

“Whoo! Go Mari!” Alya calls from one of the rows of seats. She was sitting down and munching on nachos. Oh, how Marinette wished she were pregnant at that moment.

“Yeah, go, Mari!” Kagami giggles, skating circles around the three women. Both, literally  _ and  _ figuratively.

Sara follows Kagami closely. She had, luckily, not gotten the clumsiness trait from her mother. “You’ve got this, Mommy!”

Marinette nods, clutching tightly to Chloe’s yellow clad arm. ”I know, sweetie.” 

Kagami stops in front of Marinette and rolls her eyes. “Come on!” She says, grinning, and grabs Marinette’s hands.

Marinette yelps as her friend starts dragging her around the ice. “See? It’s not too bad, is it?” Kagami asks.

Marinette takes a deep breath, and gives the woman a shaky smile. “Uh huh.” She says, not quite trusting herself to say anything else, lest she curse her friend out.

“Why don’t you try it by yourself?” Kagami asks, and before Marinette can process the question, her hands are let go.

She closes her eyes tightly, feeling her legs tremble underneath her. She braces herself for impact, no doubt going to go crashing into the walls of the rink. 

However, what she ended up falling into was much softer than she had anticipated. She hears a deep voice let out an, “Oof”, as she and her target end up in a pile on the ice.

The person underneath her took most of the force of their fall. “I am  _ so  _ sorry!” She screams, trying to get up, but slipping some more.

“No! No, it’s okay.” The person answers, trying to sit up. “Are you alright?”

Green eyes meet blue, and Marinette gasps as she realizes just  _ who _ she fell into. “Adrien?”

He lets out a soft chuckle. “Marinette! Nice bumping into you!”

Despite the odd situation, Marinette rolls her eyes. “That was terrible.”

“Marinette!” Kagami yells, and Mari turns her head to see her friends rushing towards her. “I am so sorry! I really thought you could handle it!”

Chloe snorts. “She can barely walk on normal ground, why did you think she’d be any good on ice?”

“Rude.” Marinette sighs, trying, and failing, to stand back up. Adrien, who had managed to reach his feet, laughed at her misfortune.

“Here.” Adrien says, and Marinette stares at his outstretched hand. She gives a small smile, and takes his hand.

“Thanks.” She mumbles.

Her friends crowd around. “Mommy! You alright!” A yell comes, and Sara stops in front of Mari. She holds onto her mother’s hand, her eyes filled with worry.

“I’m alright, sweetie!” Marinette exclaims, holding onto Sara’s hand. She remembers the presence of Adrien behind her, and straightens up. “Um, Adrien, this is my daughter, Sara.”

Adrien looks down at the girl, his eyes widening slightly, before fading back to neutral. “Hello, there!” He says.

Sara tilts her head at him. “Do I know you?”

Adrien shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He says, though Marinette notices that his shoulders look a bit stiff.

Sara just raises her eyebrow at him, before shrugging and going back to the ice. That leaves Marinette and her friends alone with the man that she accused of being Hawkmoth a week ago.

“Adrien.” Chloe says, pressing her lips together.

Adrien stills for a second, before a smile adorns his face. “Chlo! How are you?” 

She smiles, looking at the rest of her friends. “Good.” Chloe answers. “Um, I’m gonna go watch over Sara. Alix, why don’t you join me?” 

“I think I’m go-” Alix tries to say.

“Great!” Chloe answers, pulling on the smaller woman’s arm.

Marinette turns her head to Adrienne, knowing that if she tried to move any other part of her that she would surely fall. “Well, it was great running into you. I guess I’ll see you at-”

“Adrien!” A voice calls, and a little girl runs up to him. “Dad called! He’s outside!”

Adrien nods. “Okay, Simmy, just give me a second to say goodbye.” The little girl nods, running off (er, skating off). “That was my goddaughter. I should head out. It was nice running into you, Marinette!” Adrien says, waving at her, and running off.

Kagami moves closer to Marinette. “So… that was the guy?”

“Yeah.” Marinette murmurs, rubbing her forearm. “What do you think?”

“I think that he’s  _ way  _ too cheery.” A voice says from behind, and Marinette jumps. She falls to her bum, and looks accusingly at her best friend who was standing behind the rink wall. 

“When did you get here?”

Alya furrows her eyebrows, waving her nachos around with one of her hands. “I’ve been standing here since you fell. I thought you were supposed to be the ever perceptive Ladybug.”

Marinette rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Can we go yet?” 

Kagami giggles, letting Marinette up to her feet. “Mari, we’ve literally been here for thirty minutes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may be a little bit shorter than usual, but I think I said all that was needed to be said.
> 
> 'Til next time <3<3<3


	11. You're Just A Ringing In My Ear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK! ENJOY!

Ladybug glares at the butterfly flying away, and at the pile of ash by her foot. This was the  _ third  _ time in as many days that the unbreakable akumatized object had crumbled into ash when she turned her back. 

It wasn’t like she was one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it would be nice to have the gift receipt. For all she knew, this was a form of manipulation from the new Hawkmoth. 

How was she just supposed to blindly trust someone that she’s never even met face to face. 

After the second akuma attack, the villains were getting harder to beat. Not in terms of viciousness or less dumb names. The objects were just not breaking. It took a three hour akuma attack three days ago for her saviour to finally appear. After that, they seemed to be closer. Almost like they felt their presence was needed.

Each of these times, Ladybug had not had a chance to meet, or even  _ see  _ them. 

Today, that was about to change.

After calling, “Miraculous Ladybug!”, Marinette didn’t even bother to look at whatever person was taken advantage of this time. She let Carapace deal with them, while she turned focus to her eye in the sky.

“Queenie, you get a look.”

Chloe’s voice crackles over the intercoms. “I’m on them, LB. I haven’t gotten a good look at their face though. They’re wearing all black, and are on the move.”

“Got it. I’ll meet up with you.” Ladybug murmurs, already pulling out the tracking device on her yoyo. “Carapace? You coming?”

Nino turns to her, the victim already dealt with. “On my way.” 

*

The two reach a rooftop that Chloe had told them to stop at. “We’re here, Bee.” Nino murmurs.

“Great!” Chloe responds. “We’re gonna be there soon.”

“What?” Nino asks. “How do you know?”

“Cause I’m chasing them. Be ready.”

Marinette sees Nino flounder for a second. “What?”

Ladybug rolls her eyes, and flicks her wrist. Her yoyo spans the rooftop. She pulls Nino behind the chimney on the rooftop, despite his protests. 

The sound of someone landing on the other side of the roof sends Ladybug into high alert. She notices Nino’s eyes widen, and his fists clench. 

The pounding of footsteps gets closer, and Marinette crouches. She sees a figure clad in black run by, and trip right over the string of her yoyo.

They crash to the ground, groaning. Ladybug immediately jumps out of her hiding spot.

Queen Bee lands beside her. “Nice.” She comments, gesturing to the prone figure. 

“I try.” Ladybug shrugs, staring down at the person in front of her.

They roll over, and Marinette gets her first real look at her long-kept mystery.

Their hair was blonde, and grew a little over their ears. They wore a black suit, with a bell at the collar. Bright, green, cat-like eyes stare at her. 

They were mumbling curses under their breath, but Marinette couldn’t really make out anything they were saying. Instead, she felt her mind go blank. 

“Who are you?” She distantly hears Chloe ask them. They don’t answer, their eyes were fixed on Marinette and Marinette only.

Ladybug takes a step forward, almost as if being drawn to the figure in front of her. “Ladybug?” Nino asks somewhere to her left. She doesn’t answer.

Blue eyes are locked on green, unmoving, not being able to fight the pull between them. Marinette tilts her head to the side, staring at them. 

“LB!” Chloe says, her voice louder this time. She puts a hand on Mari’s shoulder, and gently shakes her. Apparently, that was enough to clear the fog in the brunette’s head.

Marinette blinks a few times, and then looks at the black clad figure in front of her. They, too, seemed to be coming out of their trance. 

“Who are you?” Ladybug asks, her voice groggy. 

The figure in front of her stares, their eyes going incredibly wide. “I- I-” They stutter, looking anywhere but at Marinette’s eyes. “I have to get going.”

Chloe crosses her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow. “Yeah? Well, how are you going to get away.”

They purse their lips, and close their brilliant eyes. “Please forgive me.” They murmur. And then, they raise one clawed hand and pull out a silver stick. The stick extends, hitting Chloe right in the middle. 

“Oof!” She gasps, stumbling backwards.

The baton sweeps Nino out by the legs, and he falls onto his back. The person stands up, and darts across the roof. 

Marinette gapes, wanting to follow them. But something in the pit of her stomach was telling her not to. To let them go. 

So, Marinette decides to kneel by her fallen comrades. 

Anything to get those big, green eyes out of her head, and the longing in her that wanted to see them again.

*

Marinette sighs, pushing her covers off for what felt like the millionth time.

When she got home, Mari had immediately went off to bed. Luka had informed her that Sara was already tucked in, and sure to be off to sleep. She had nothing to worry about. 

Well, that last part wasn’t  _ exactly _ true.

No matter what Marinette did, she just couldn’t shut her brain off. Everytime she closed her eyes, a pair of green ones stared back at her. It was almost like the image was tattooed on the inside of her eyelids. 

She turns to Tikki who was already sleeping peacefully. She didn’t want to wake Tikki. She had been  _ especially  _ exhausted after their earlier battles. 

It would be selfish to wake her kwami now of all times.

Groaning, Marinette gets out of bed. She pushes the covers to one side of the mattress, and stands up. The hardwood floors were cold on her bare feet, but it gave her something to focus on other than the mysterious figure she met earlier.

Marinette gently closes her door, trying her hardest not to make a noise. It was ten at night, and she didn’t want to wake the other, sleeping, residents of the household. 

She creeps into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring water into it. The first sip felt like rain in the sahara. The second sip cooled her down from the balmy night. By the fifth sip in a row, her throat burned like she was drowning.

Slamming the cup onto the island, Marinette takes a few, steadying breaths. She’d never felt so out of control in her life. And, for a girl that was forced to be a superhero when she was fourteen, that was saying something. 

She felt like she was slipping down a rabbit hole. She had no idea where it would bring her, and there was no way out. 

A soft sound brought Marinette back to reality. She stills, holding onto the edge of the countertop.

She hears another sound, and realizes that it was coming from Sara’s room.

Marinette groans, pressing her thumb and forefinger to her temples. She walks to the door, and opens it without further ado. 

Sara was standing by the windows, her eyes wide with guilt. She had, obviously, just been caught doing something that she wasn’t supposed to.

“Sara? How many times have I told you not to open the-” Marinette stops, as she takes in the rest of the scene.

Sara was not alone in the room. A figure stood in the open window. A figure with blonde hair, and bright, green, cat-like eyes. 

“Momma!” Sara yelps, her eyes darting between her mother and the figure. “This is my friend I was telling you about! His name is Chat Noir!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone see that coming? Probably, I'm kind of predictable. 
> 
> If you haven't already, stream the new oneshot that me and meerturtle posted a few days ago. It's called 'Pound It!'.
> 
> As always, if you want any extra stories written by me, you can look at my Twitter, @agreste_dupain_
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	12. If I Heard You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW// Anxiety Attack
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The first time that Chat showed up outside a four year old girl’s window was an accident. He swears.

He’d just been sitting on the window ledge, trying to clear his head, when he heard the curtains behind him fly open. Chat tensed, feeling the hairs on his neck stand as straight as the ears on his head.

Muttering curses under his breath, Chat slowly turned his head. There stood a small girl with black hair and blue eyes. Her mouth had dropped open, and she stared at him.

For a second, Chat considers just running away before the girl can say anything. Just as he was about to pounce away, the girl flung her window open.

“Oh my, gosh!” She squeals, a smile forming onto her lips. “Whoa!” 

Swallowing hard, Chat reluctantly smiles. “Hello.” He awkwardly said, waving a little bit.

He awkwardly sat on the window ledge as the small girl interrogated him. Where was he from. Where did he get his powers. How did he come by his suit. 

Chat checks his watch-less wrist. “You know, it’s funny.” He laughs. “I have to get going…”

“Wait!” The girl screeches, and Chat waits for someone to check into her room. No one comes. “My name is Sara! What is yours?”

Chat hesitates for a second, before giving a reluctant smile. “My name is Chat. Chat Noir.”

*

The second time he’d stopped by, he hadn’t noticed exactly where he was. He’d just stood there, when the window had opened and the same little girl was watching him.

“Gah!” He’d gasped, unprepared for the surprise. “Um… S- Sara, what… how did you know I was here?”

She smiles. “I saw your shadow.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Were you waiting for me?”

The little girl shakes her head. “I sometimes stand here when I can’t sleep. I just happened to see you.”

They stay silent for a second. Just as Chat was about to open his mouth, Sara begins talking again. “Did you see the fight today?”

Chat hesitates, before nodding. “Um, yeah. Yeah, I saw it.”

“Can I tell you something?” Sara asks, her eyes shifting wildly. She steps closer and says in a stage whisper, “My mommy is a superhero too.”

“I’m sure she is.” Chat murmurs. “I really shouldn’t stay…”

“Wait!” Sara exclaims, and Chat, yet again, waits for someone to hear the child. Again, no one comes.

Chat taps his foot. Last thing he needs is for someone to notice him. Especially in the window of a child without her parent’s knowledge. 

Actually, the more he thought about it, the more creepy even  _ he  _ thought himself to be.

Sara runs back to him. She holds out a piece of paper, and smiles brightly at him. “I made this for you!” 

Chat gently takes the picture, and stares at it. It was a drawing of what looked like a cat with yellow hair on top of its head. He chuckles. 

“It’s very beautiful. Thank you, Sara.” 

“Anytime, Chat Noir!” She giggles, giving him a salute.

When Chat goes home that night, he clipped the drawing to his refrigerator.

*

The third time, Chat couldn’t breathe. 

One thing after another had piled up in his mind, and it felt like he was being weighed down by the world. So, he’d transformed and went out into the night air. 

However, his breathlessness forced him into a change of plans.

He’d just ran to the closest place he could find. His mind was so cloudy, he didn’t even realize just how familiar the place was. 

When the window opened, he couldn’t even find it in himself to be nervous. 

“Chat Noir?” The girl asks timidly, her head tilted to the side. Chat nods, pressing a hand to his chest in response. He just couldn’t say anything at the moment. Sara’s eyes widened, and she runs away.

_ Just great. Now her Parents are gonna have me arrested for sitting outside her window. _

When Sara returns, she hands him a glass of chocolate milk. “Here. Drink.” She orders. 

Chat just shrugs and takes the glass from her. It was almost sickeningly sweet. Exactly what you’d expect from a small child. 

“Here.” Sara then places a plate next to him. On it, rests a chocolate chip cookie. “My grandpapa made it. It's very good.”

Chat smiles, and takes a bite of the treat. He couldn’t even care that it may have been poisoned. The cookie was amazing. 

“Your grandfather should be a baker.” He quips, letting out a lighthearted laugh.

“He is.” Sara assures, taking a seat in her rocking chair by the window. “Are you okay.”

“Kind of.” Chat says, genuinely feeling better with the small child. “How’d you know to do that?”

Sara shrugs. “My Momma gets like that sometimes. That’s what my aunt Alya does to help her. Well, kind of. She likes tea, and I can’t reach the mugs. And I’m not allowed to use the hot water. I’m also not allowed to make chocolate milk so late, so if you could keep this a secret, that would be great.”

Chat chuckles. “You’re pretty helpful. How old are you.”

“Four.” Sara pronounces proudly. “Why did you come here? Don’t you have people to help you?” 

Chat looks down at his hands. “Um, not really.”

Sara just blinks at him. “Why not?”

And, somehow, Chat ends up spilling his entire life story to this little girl. She listens, and butts in sometimes. She would go on wild tirades about her day, and her family, and her friends.

She told him all about her superhero mother, and her despicable tickle monster aunt Chloe, and her dad that wasn’t around as much as she wished.

Chat told her about how his mom wasn’t around much, and how he didn’t want his dad to be around, and how he hadn’t talked to one of his only friends in years.

Chat left around eleven, scolding Sara into going to bed. 

And just like that, a friendship was born. 

Chat never entered her room, nor let her go out of her window to talk to him. He showed up maybe once a week, and if she didn’t come to the window within ten minutes, Chat realized she was sleeping and would let her be.

Only once had her mom come close to catching him. 

Chat’s head had exploded with a migraine. He’d tried to leave, but could barely move his legs. When he heard Sara’s door open, he had jumped to the side of the window. 

He heard it slam shut, and stayed until he could leave without falling to his death. He may be named ‘chat’, but he  _ didn’t  _ always land on his feet.

*

That brings him back to tonight. 

Talking to Sara, when he sees a woman enter the room. 

Sara was the spitting image of her mother, with the same black hair and blue eyes. The blue eyes that were staring at him in utter disbelief and shock.

Chat briefly hears Sara make the introduction, before her mother was pushing the little girl behind her. “Sara!” 

“Um… I’m really sorry.” Chat says, lamely, moving more out of the window frame. “I am very-”

That was when Sara’s mom grabbed a block from her bookshelf and threw it at Chat’s head. “Out!” She yells. “Stay away from my daughter!” 

“Okay.” Chat says, not needing further preamble. He was moving backwards some more, when another block hit him straight in the forehead. It hurt a lot more than you’d think.

Chat jumps away, landing on a distant rooftop. He believes he can hear a high pitched, “Good-bye, Chat!” Before Sara’s mom shuts the window once more.

“That went… exactly as I expected.” Chat groans, jumping through the window of his  _ own  _ apartment. “Plagg, claws in.”

The little kwami cackles. “Did you think that she would be  _ fine  _ with you going to her four year old’s window every night?”

“No. Even I find that creepy.”

Plagg giggles. “You know what  _ I _ find creepy? The fact that your only friends were a four year old and-”

“A stinky cat creature?” Plagg’s owner cuts in, plopping down in his bed.

Plagg sticks his tongue out. “Say what you want, but until you find a dating app or something, I’m all you’ve got.”

“And you know what, you’re enough.” Adrien mumbles, lightly rubbing his kwami’s head. “You’re more than enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time <3<3<3


	13. Which I Don't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, so implied/referenced abortion, very little. Also, slight mention of drugs and drinking. By that, I mean, like one mention each. Just don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.
> 
> ENJOY!

Sara and Marinette sit opposite each other. Sara has her arms crossed, looking down at the table. Marinette is staring down the young girl. Luka is standing next to the table, eyes shifting nervously between the two females. 

“We taught you better than this!” Marinette hisses. “Don’t you remember? Stranger danger? No lying? Don’t open the door for people you don’t know?”

“I never lied!” Sara pleads. “I  _ told  _ you that I opened the window for my friend, Chat Noir!” Marinette purses her lips together, remembering all the times that she had put that off to her daughter’s active imagination. “And it wasn’t a door, it was a window.”

Marinette turns to Luka. “I blame you for her sassiness.” She mutters. Focusing her attention back on Sara, she asks, “And stranger danger?”

“He was a superhero!” Sara exclaims. “You were the one that taught me that they help! They are good people! I got excited!”

Marinette shakes her head. “He is not a superhero. He is not among the people that save Paris everyday. For all we know, he could be one of the bad guys!”

“He’s not a bad guy!” Sara claims. “He’s good! I promise! He told me-” She suddenly stops, not saying anything.

Marinette leans forward. “What? What did he tell you?”

Sara shakes her head. “I promised not to share his secrets. And you always taught me to keep a promise.”

“Oh, now you listen to what I’ve taught you.” Marinette murmurs, putting her head into her hands.

“Mari, I think she understands.” Luka puts in, gently putting a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “She gets that what she did was wrong, and she won’t see him again.”

“What!?” Sara exclaims, clearly not getting that same message. 

Marinette shakes her head. “You will not open your window for him again, and if he shows up, you come and get one of us.”

“Bu-” Sara starts, but clearly understands that this is not an argument she is going to win. “Fine.” She says glumly. “Can I go to my room now?”

Marinette sighs. “Yeah.” 

Sara slumps to her room, closing the door behind her. 

“Wow, I thought we had another decade before she started resenting us.” Luka murmurs. 

Marinette hums. “Exactly what I thought about shady guys coming to her window without our knowledge.”

Luka groans. “You’re right. This is probably not going to be the last time, is it?”

She shrugs. “At least most guys can’t jump to third story apartment windows.” Marinette’s head falls to the table. “I’ve failed.” 

“You didn’t fail.” 

“I’ve failed.” Marinette repeats. “I didn’t know that this guy who I’ve been searching for for months came to my four year old’s window every night. Not only have I failed as a superhero, I’ve failed as a mother.”

“Marinette, she’s four years old and isn’t telling us stuff. It’s not like she’s dropped out of college and doing drugs.” Luka laughs. “Come on, there is nobody that could’ve done a better job raising her.”

Marinette scoffs at that. 

“It’s true!” Luka claims. “Come on, do you remember when you first got pregnant with Sara?”

Of course she remembered. Twenty two years old, and in her final years of uni. She was top of her class, and doing fine in her job of saving Paris. She thought that she could do it all.

That was, until a drunken night with one of her best friends left her pregnant.

“Everyone told you that you wouldn’t be able to do it. Everyone said that if you kept her, you’d have to drop out of school. They said that Paris wouldn’t be safe. They said that you would be ruining your life if you kept her.” Luka reminds her. 

All of her classmates had been ready to pounce on her top spot in class. Fu had warned her against being Ladybug while pregnant. 

“But you wanted her.” Luka continues. “And what happened?” 

Marinette sighs. “Is this the part where I become peppy?”

“You kept your grades up. Helped Alya keep up the hero game, _ and  _ gave birth to a healthy baby girl.” Luka reminds her. “You are the  _ only  _ person that could’ve done such a great job, then and now. You are one of a kind, Marinette. And I think that you should be happy that you are raising such a honest little girl.”

Marinette allows a smile to grace her lips. “Yeah, well… you aren’t half bad yourself.”

*

Nathalie Sanceour sits in bed, her heart monitor keeping up a steady beat. Her head felt groggy, and when she wasn’t coughing up a storm, her throat felt dry and scratchy.

She stares at a ‘Get Well Soon’ card that Gorille’s daughter had left on her nightstand. It was handmade, incredibly bright, and busy. It brightened up Nathalie’s room, so basically her life.

A soft knock sounds at her door, and a familiar voice comes through the door. “Knock, knock!” Her nurse, JoAnne, opens the door a crack. “You have a visitor!” She announces.

Nathalie lets out a breath. “Really?” No one had let her know they were coming. 

“Yes, and quite a mighty handsome one at that!” Jo giggles, opening the door wider. She turns to the person behind her. “You have an hour before visitation hours end, and I have to give her her daily dose.”

“Thank you.” The reply is heard.

Jo leaves, and Nathalie is left with her visitor. “I didn’t expect you to visit so soon after the last time.”

“Yeah, well, we have some business to discuss.” The blonde man answers, pulling up a seat to her bedside. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, but… it’s about father. He called.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time<3<3<3


	14. I'm Spoken For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Me updating before 1 am? Wild. 
> 
> ENJOY!

“Thank you, have a nice day!” Sabine Cheng chirps as her newest customer takes their ordered pastries. 

The woman turns to her granddaughter, and hands her a cinnamon bun. The girl’s face splits into a grin, and Sabine winks at her. She brings her hand to her mouth, and gesture’s to Marinette. Sara nods at her grandmother.

“Mom?” Marinette asks, ducking her head out of the kitchen door. “You aren’t giving her anymore sweets are you?”

“Of course not, dear.” Sabine says, then winks at Sara. The little girl breaks into a fit of giggles. 

“You know I can see you, right?” Marinette rolls her eyes, walking towards her family. She does her best to get the flour off of her hands. She raises her eyebrow at the sugary pastry in her daughter’s hand. “Mom…”

Sabine shrugs. “It’s just a small sweet.”

“Yeah, well when she doesn’t eat dinner and can’t sleep because of a stomach ache, I hope you’ll be able to deal with that.” 

Sabine chuckles, and places a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “I think I know what I’m getting into, little miss raw cookie dough.” Marinette sticks her tongue out at the older woman. “How is your father doing?”

“He’s putting the brownies in the oven now.” Marinette answers, gesturing to where she knows her father is. “I should probably head out soon.”

Sara wraps her arms around Marinette’s waist. “I’ll miss you, Mommy.” 

Marinette laughs, reciprocating the hug. “I’ll be back tomorrow, sweetheart. I have some work I have to do, and grandma and grandpa wanna spend time with you.”

Sara nods, her smile turning slightly glum. It was always like this. Everytime she wanted to go to her grandparents’ house she was incredibly excited, until the departure came. 

It was usually best to make it quick, so that the little girl could go back to being happy. “I’m coming back with Daddy and Kagami. They’re thinking of going ice skating.”

“Are you coming too?” Sara asks, her eyes lighting up.

Marinette laughs. “ _ Absolutely  _ not.” She presses a kiss to Sara’s forehead, then straightens up. Sabine grips her in a tight hug. “I love you, maman.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.” Sabine murmurs into Mari’s shoulder. When she pulls away, she shouts to the back, “Tom! Come say goodbye to Marinette!”

The giant man runs out, covered in flour. “Oh, my little girl!” He exclaims. He brings Marinette in his bone crushing grip. “You’re leaving already?”

Marinette gasps for breath. “I- I- h-ha- have to breath, pap!” 

“Oh, sorry.” Tom murmurs, letting Marinette go. Slightly.

“I have a strict schedule.” She murmurs. “I’m running late as it is.” 

“Alright, sweetheart. We’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Marinette smiles at her parents. “Thank you.” She mouths to them. 

As Marinette turns to leave, she immediately bumps into someone. “Oof.” She groans, falling back into the counter.

“Oh my, gosh!” A familiar voice exclaims. “We have to stop meeting like this.” 

Marinette opens her eyes and sees Adrien Agreste standing bashfully in front of her. “Adrien!” She squeaks. “What- what are you doing here?” 

Adrien laughs. “I… heard that this place serves the best pastries in Paris. Are you okay?”

“Believe me, I’m pretty sure she’s used to falling.” Another familiar voice says. Marinette stares as Chloe comes to stand by Adrien. “Hey, Mari!”

“What… are you two doing together?” Marinette asks, raising an eyebrow at Chloe. 

“We’re catching up, now that we’re both in Paris again!” Adrien explains. “And, I’ve been meaning to go to this place for a while.”

“Marinette!” Sabine says. “Why don’t you move out of the way for our new customers?”

Mari winces, realizing that she’s still standing in front of the counter. “Yeah. Sorry. I have to go, it was nice seeing you again, Adrien. Chloe.” She says, making a gesture for the woman to call her later. 

“Hi,” Adrien says to Sabine. “Um… I don’t know what I should order.”

Sabine smiles warmly at him. “Well, Sara, what do you think he would like?”

The little girl stares up at the man, her eyes wide. Without another word, she goes to the back and brings back a bag of chocolate chip cookies. 

“Here.” She says to him. “My grandpapa made these. He’s a baker.” 

*

“How do you know her?” The nurse asks, leading Marinette down the hallway. 

Marinette bites her lip. “We had a lot of dealings when she was still working for Mr. Agreste.” 

“Ahh.” The nurse answers, her lips puckered at the name. “Well, you’ll have an hour. Use it wisely.”

She opens up the door. “You have a visitor!” 

Marinette walks into the room, closing the door behind her. “Hey.” She says lamely. 

A scratchy laugh meets her. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. But… I really need to talk to you. About… Gabriel. Are you up for that?”

  
Nathalie grins. “Of course. Who would turn down a visit from  _ the _ Ladybug.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love listening to your comments, please keep them coming! 
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	15. I Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually finished this right after posting my last chapter, but I wanted to see you guys suffer some more :)
> 
> There is mention of sickness throughout the chapter, just be forewarned. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Ladybug lands on the indicated rooftop, her guard up.  _

_ “Ah, Ladybug. Good that you could make it.” A familiar voice says, and Ladybug spins around. Standing there, in all of her peacock glory was none other than Mayura.  _

_ “Mayura! Good to see you here. Where’s Hawkmoth? Imprisoning some more butterflies?” _

_ Mayura gives a tightlipped smile. “Funny.” She murmurs. “I actually came here as a peace offering.” _

_ “A peace offering.” Ladybug repeats. “And why should I believe you? I seem to remember our last peace offering almost landed my whole team in the hospital.” _

_ “And yet you came.” Mayura repeats. “Without them.” _

_ “You asked me to. _ I  _ don’t break my promises.” Ladybug answers, glaring fiercely at the woman. “What’s up with the sudden need for peace.” _

_ “Well-” Mayura starts, but then breaks into a round of coughs. Her body wracked as she fell down. Marinette takes a step forward, but then stops as light encases Mayura’s body. _

_ Ladybug gapes at Nathalie Sanceour laying on the rooftop in front of her. “My… my health is waning.” Nathalie answers. “I need your help.” _

_ “And what’s stopping me from taking your miraculous and throwing you into prison right now.” _

_ Nathalie rips off a pendant, and tosses it at Ladybug’s feet. “Take it.” She breathes, and then meets Marinette’s eyes with a steely glint. “As for putting me into prison, I don’t think that you will.” _

_ Ladybug rolls her eyes. “And why’s that?” _

_ “Because… if I end up in prison, you’ll never find out who Hawkmoth is.” Nathalie goes to her feet, and takes a step towards the younger woman. “He’s become increasingly unhinged, and I cannot stop him myself. I need your help.” _

_ Marinette feels her throat go dry. She takes a steadying breath, and offers a hand. “Fine, but if I find out that you’re playing me, I will make sure you spend your dying days incarcerated.” _

_ “You have a deal,” Nathalie says, shaking Ladybug’s hand. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” _

_ And the two women stand their, one stiff as an arrow, and the other breaking into another fit of coughing. _

*

Marinette moves closer, and takes in the room. A chair was moved close to Nathalie’s bedside, and a card was propped open on her nightstand. 

“I can take it I’m not your first visitor?” Marinette asks, taking the seat. 

Nathalie shakes her head. “No. I’m not as terrible a person as you think.”

“I don’t think you’re a terrible person.” Marinette says, but it sounds a little halfhearted, even to her own ears. “I’m glad you’re not all alone.”

“Cut the pleasantries.” Nathalie sighs. “I’m sure that there is a reason you came here? What is it?”

Mari purses her lips together. She leans forward, her hands folded in her lap. “Alright.” She sighs. “You knew Gabriel Agreste better than anyone, right?”

“Anyone still alive.” Nathalie says, before breaking into a coughing fit. “If that’s what you can call this.” She mutters. 

“He attacked innocent people,” Marinette recounts. “He put my life in danger since I was a fourteen year old. He even sacrificed  _ your _ health.”

“Are you trying to make me feel worse about my life decisions?” Nathalie grouses. “Because, if you haven’t noticed, I’m already kind of in hell.”

“Why?” Marinette asks. “Why did he do it?”

Nathalie raises an eyebrow. “You don’t know?”

Marinette groans. “He was Hawkmoth for 12 years. And not consistently. Sometimes he would stop for a few months. Sometimes he would cause an akuma every few hours. Did… he just want to terrorize people?”

Nathalie shakes her head. “No. Gabriel… he wasn’t like that.”

Marinette snorts. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Nathalie sighs. “Gabriel was working towards getting your miraculous.”

“He wanted to be the next Ladybug?” Marinette raises an eyebrow at the woman. 

Nathalie shakes her head. “I… I didn’t get the full story. All Gabriel told me was that he needed your miraculous. And that one day, he would draw the other out of hiding.”

Marinette stiffens. “The other?”

“Yeah.” Nathalie sighs. “He said that if he can make a difficult enough akuma, then you’ll have no choice but to let the other come out of hiding. He never specified what that meant.”

Marinette looks off into the distance. “Huh.” She murmurs. “And, what exactly did he say would happen if he got my miraculous, and… the ‘other’.”

Nathalie bites her lip, hesitating. Finally she replies, “He said that if he got your miraculous, it would grant him a wish.”

Marinette actually laughs at that. “Really? If that was how it works, wouldn’t he have thought I would’ve used that wish on him years ago?”

Nathalie shrugs. “He was a complicated man. Not even I knew the full extent of all his plans.”

Marinette leans back into her chair. “Alright. What did he want with this wish?”

“That’s easy.” Nathalie answers. “His wife was very sick, almost dead. The same sickness that I am currently suffering from right now, actually. He wanted to use his wish to bring her back to her health.”

Marinette stills, her mind racing. “His wife… Emilie?” 

“Yes. Emilie Agreste.”

_ Emilie Agreste.  _

_ Wife of Gabriel Agreste. _

_ Mother of Adrien Agreste. _

“Oh my, gosh.” Marinette breaths. “Nathalie… what do you know of Gabriel’s son?”

Nathalie stills. “Excuse me?”

“Gabriel’s son. Adrien? What do you know of him. What did  _ he know _ of you? His father?”

Nathalie stares at her as if Marinette had just slapped her. “You should go.”

“What?” Marinette asks, leaning towards her. “No, I need you to answer me.”

“I have answered enough questions.” Nathalie says, not meeting eye contact with the other woman. “No more.”

“Nathalie-”

“No more!” She says, much more forceful. The door to Nathalie’s room swings open.

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I think it’s time for you to leave.” The nurse says.

Marinette shakes her head. “What? But, just another minute-”

“No.” Nathalie answers. “This conversation is over.”

Marinette glares at the woman as her nurse ushers her out of the room. 

She was still seething as she signed out of the hospital.

A buzzing in her pocket drew her attention, and Marinette picks up her cell phone. She sees Alya’s contact name, and sighs, pressing the ‘accept’ button.

“Hey, Als, what’s up?” Marinette sighs, walking towards her car.

“Marinette!” A frantic Nino’s voice comes through the phone.

“Nino? What’s up? Why are you calling from Alya’s phone?” Mari asks, taking a seat in her car. 

Nino takes a few deep breaths. “She… she came home from work, and was taking a nap… and… she’s early.”

Marinette stills. “Nino?”

“Her… her water broke, Marinette.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'd think that I listen to Into The Unknown on loop while working on this? Last night was the first time I worked on a chapter with it playing o_o.
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	16. Everyone I've Ever Loved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, mentions of birth throughout this chapter.
> 
> Um, I'm not totally sure about it... but I tried my best.
> 
> Enjoy!

“I need to go see her!” Marinette pleads with the front desk nurse.

The woman rolls her eyes. “As I’ve already informed you, she is not allowed anyone in her room right now. There is too much going on right now.”

“Too much? What is too much? Is she alright?” Marinette asks, slamming her hands onto the desk.

“Ma’am, I’m gonna need you to take a seat.” The nurse says, gesturing to the waiting area.

Marinette groans, slumping towards a seat. 

Alya was in labor, and she couldn’t even go in and see her. This could not be happening. 

Marinette couldn’t help but flash back to her own labor. She hadn’t been able to get a hold of Luka when he was at one of his gigs. Alya had been by her side the whole time.

Giving birth to Sara hadn’t been the easiest process, but her best friend had never left her. But, Marinette couldn’t even go into her damn room.

“Mari!” Someone shouts, and Marinette looks up to see Chloe running towards her. “Nino called me! What-”

Marinette shakes her head. “I have no idea. They won’t let me into the room.”

Chloe groans. “Really? Another one? One of these days I’m gonna become a doctor, and I’ll have to be allowed in the room.”

“Chloe, I had a high risk birth. It was nothing against you, I could only have one person in the room.” Marinette deadpans. 

Chloe shakes her head. “You weren’t the one that had to sit next to Nino for 12 hours, trying to steady his breathing.”

The blonde takes a seat next to Mari, and puts her head into her hands. “What do you think is happening right now.”

Marinette shrugs. “Nino’s probably freaking out. Alya’s probably having to calm him down.”

“That sounds about right.” 

Marinette leans against Chloe’s shoulder, her mind whirring, and her foot tapping rapidly. “What were you doing at the bakery earlier?” 

She feels Chloe’s shoulder move underneath her head. “Adrien really wanted to try out the bakery. Apparently he got raving reviews from someone.”

“And… Adrien?”

Chloe groans. “I knew that was coming up.” 

Marinette places her chin on her friend’s shoulder. “Why?”

“He… was my only friend since I was a kid. He was the only person that saw the best in me. The only friend I made without showing off my dad’s money and power.” Chloe lets out a long breath. “When he left, I felt truly alone. And now that he’s back, I just wanted to see how everything turned out.”

“And?” Marinette prompts. 

“He seems… happy.” Chloe says. “Way happier than he was when I knew him, at least. Though, that’s not really saying much to be honest. I… I guess we both turned out pretty good.”

Marinette looks at one of her best friends. A girl that, several years ago, she would’ve never thought would be someone she could look at civilly, let alone as family. 

“You know, if I’m correct… it’s not your fault.” 

Chloe nods. “Yeah… you’re right. I know you’re right. But, he was like a brother to me. And I still feel responsible for him, no matter how long it’s been.”

Marinette rubs a hand on Chloe’s back, and wraps the woman in a hug. 

“Excuse me.” The nurse from earlier comes up to them. “Mrs. Cesaire is currently taking visitors, if you still wish to see her.”

*

“Alya!” Both women squeal when they see their friend.

She smiles weakly at them. “Hey, guys. You made it.”

“Of course we did!” Chloe answers, striding into the room. “We couldn’t leave you alone with this unqualified oaf.”

“Really feeling the love.” Nino mutters, fluffing up Alya’s pillow. 

Alya puts a hand on Nino’s arm. “Sweetheart. Please stop.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” Nino murmurs, moving away from the over fluffed pillow.

Marinette takes a step closer to the man. “You doing okay, Nino?”

He nods, but it looks less convincing, and more crazed. “Yeah. Yup. Totally. Great.”

All of the women give him a look. “I’m the one that’s going into labor, shouldn’t I be the one freaking out?” Alya asks, before gasping in pain.

*

Marinette paces in front of the vending machine in a hallway of the hospital. Alya had officially dilated and so, Chloe and Marinette were forced to leave the hospital room. 

Marinette had offered to get them both snacks from the vending machine. That had not gone according to plan, and Marinette had just ended up walking around the hallway. 

“Marinette!” A sickly sweet voice calls. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

She tilts her head at the woman walking towards her. “Lila Rossi?”

“Mari! How good to see you!” Lila laughs, looking as fake as ever. 

Marinette can barely form a real smile at the Italian woman. “You’re… here. Why are you here? Are you visiting someone?” Lila didn’t look like she was anywhere close to giving birth.

“I’m going on a date.” Lila brags. “With a doctor. He’s getting off work soon.” 

Marinette raises an eyebrow. “And the first thing he does is go on a date with you?” She really hadn’t meant for it to sound as rude as it came out. Much.

“What are you doing here?” Lila says, not looking phased at Marinette’s jab.

“Oh, um Alya is actually having a baby.” Marinette answers, gesturing behind her. 

“Hmm, good for her.” Lila says. “What about you? Do you have any kids?”

Marinette smiles. “Yeah. I have a little girl. Her name’s Sara.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that you were married.”

Marinette shrugs. “I’m not.”

“Oh, are you divorced?”

Marinette shakes her head. “No. Me and her father weren’t married.”

“Oh.” Lila says, and Marinette tilts her head at the woman. What was that supposed to mean? “Anyways, I should get going. See ya, Marinette!”

“Yeah… see ya.” Marinette murmurs. She could never understand why Lila got under her skin so easily.

“Mari! Mari!” Chloe yells, running towards the brunette.

Her eyes widen. “Oof! Chloe, I forgot to get snacks, I’m sor-”

Chloe shakes her head, cutting her off. “That’s fine! I came to get you because of the baby! He’s out!”

*

“Hey.” Marinette says softly as she walks into the room. She holds out a blue stuffed bunny towards the new parents.

“How are you?” Chloe asks, producing a blue wrapped gift bag. 

Alya looks up at them, her eyes soft. “Hey, guys.”

Nino looks up at the women, looking far more content than he had since they arrived at the hospital.

“Who’s this little guy?” Marinette asks after her and Chloe place their gifts down. She walks towards her best friend.

Alya looks up to the two women. “This… is Antonio Marvin Lahiffe.”

Marinette tilts her head. “Marvin? As in…”

“Derived from Marinette.” Alya answers, a smile on her lips as she stares down at her baby boy.

Chloe furrows her eyebrows. “Wait. You named him after Marinette?”

Alya shares a look with Nino. “Of course. I mean, it’s only fair since you’re gonna be his godmother.”

Chloe’s mouth drops open, and she puts her hands to her mouth. “Wait? Really?”

“Of course, Chlo.” Nino answers. “Do you wanna hold him?” Nino looks at Alya, who reluctantly gives her son to his father.

Chloe stares down at the baby boy, and Marinette stares at him in her arms. He was perfect. 

After a certain time, Marinette turns to Alya. “Hey, Als? Where’s your parents and sisters?”

“Oh,” Alya laughs. “I know that those bitches can wait. You guys can not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I mentioned this on my Twitter, but I just came up for the ending of this story. It's kind of violent. Is that okay?
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	17. Here Within These Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!

Marinette sits at her desk, ruffling through her many papers. Her mind was racing as she considered everything that she’d learnt over the weekend, and everything she had left to learn.

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng? Mr. Agreste is here?” Gregory’s voice comes over her intercom. 

Marinette blinks a few times, before answering. “Uh… let him in.” 

Adrien enters her office. “Hey!” He says, giving her a blinding smile. 

“Hi…” Marinette says hesitantly, stacking up her papers in a neat stack. “Um, not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “Oh! Well, I just wanted to ask if you’re ready for the meeting this afternoon? I was talking to my VP, and I was curious what you had planned. Either way, I’m sure you’ll knock it out of the park.” Adrien rambles.

Marinette furrows her eyebrows, surprised. “Um, yeah. Everything is great. I’ll be totally ready for four this afternoon.”

Adrien raises an eyebrow. “Four?” He asks, checking his watch. “The meeting is at three.”

Marinette chuckles. “No. I’m pretty sure it’s at four. I scheduled it around my daughter getting out of school.” 

The man nods. “Yes…” He says hesitantly. “But, Jenny, in accounting, she asked for it to be pushed up because she has another meeting at four that can’t be rescheduled.”

Mari frantically shakes her head. “No! No. I would’ve gotten the memo-” She stops, her hand finding a piece of paper placed at the bottom of her stack. On top of the paper was a yellow sticky note in Gregory’s hand-writing: 

**Meeting pushed up to three!**

Marinette feels all of the breath leave her lungs. “Mother-”

“Um, are you alright?” Adrien asks, his hands behind his back.

Marinette groans. “No! I am not alright! I was supposed to pick my daughter up from school at three!”

“Do you have someone to pick her up? A friend or family member…”

“No,” Marinette answers, her hands covering her eyes. “All of my friends are at work, or out of the country, or won’t pick her up in time, even if I give them notice now. My parents live too far away, even if they weren’t busy…”

Adrien bites his lip, and taps his foot. “Uh… I can pick her up.”

Marinette’s head flies up to stare at him. “What?”

“I- I- I just mean, that if you need someone to get her from school, I can help. Unless you don’t, and that’s totally fine, cause we don’t really know each other. I- I was just thinking that if you need help, I can-”

Marinette purses her lips together. This was absolutely crazy. Insane. “Okay.” She sighs.

“Okay?” Adrien repeats. 

Marinette nods. “Um, only if it’s okay with you.” 

“Yeah, I live to serve.” Adrien jokes. 

Marinette nods, taking a post-it note, and writing an address on it. “Uh, this is her school. Under that is my number. Call me when you pick her up. Bring her to my parent’s bakery, call me when you get there.”

Adrien takes the note from her. “I won’t let you down.” He promises.

Marinette nods. “I know, because if you do, I’d have to hunt you down and kill you.” Adrien’s eyes meet hers, his holding panic. Marinette rolls her eyes. “I’m joking.” Kind of.

*

Marinette jogs up the steps to her parent’s apartment. It was 5 o’clock, and she had just gotten to the address.

She had loads of anxiety about Adrien picking up Sara. Why had she agreed to this again? Because she was desperate and in need of help. 

It still didn’t make it sit any better.

Marinette knocks on her parent’s door, and Sabine opens it. “Hello, sweetheart!” She exclaims. 

“Hey, maman.” Marinette murmurs, walking through the door. She felt jittery, and didn’t think she would feel better until she saw her little girl. “Sara?”

The little girl’s head flies up from one of the couches. “Mommy!” She giggles, but stays in her seat. 

“Oh, so I’m not good enough to get up for?” Marinette asks, walking around to get a good look at the chair.

“Sorry.” Another voice says. A familiar voice. “She’s very interested in how this movie is going to end.”

“Adrien.” Marinette mutters, staring at the man. “Um, wha- what are you still doing here?” She questions, looking at her mother for explanation.

Sabine chuckles. “Well, Adrien here said that he was probably going to go get lunch, so I invited him to stay. We have plenty of food. Then, him and Sara wanted to watch Clue.”

“Huh.” Marinette murmurs. “Well, that’s very  _ kind  _ of you, maman.”

“Yeah.” Adrien answers, standing up. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Cheng. This has to be one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.”

“Adrien, I told you to call me Sabine!” Sabine smiles at him.

“Well, either way, I really should get going. Thank you again, M- Sabine.” Adrien laughs.

Sabine moves over to her kitchen counter, and picks up a pastry bag. “Don’t forget to take these croissants. Hot out of the oven.”

“You’re too kind.” Adrien laughs. He turns to Marinette. “Your family is the best.”

Marinette nods. “They have their moments.”

Sabine stares between the two of them, a smile forming on her lips. Adrien moves over to the couch, and gently taps Sara’s shoulder. “I have to go. I had a great time, Sara.”

The little girl spins around. “You’re leaving?” She questions, pouting.

“Afraid so.” Adrien murmurs. 

The girl practically jumps over the back of the couch, and wraps her arms around the man’s middle. “Bye.”

Marinette raises an eyebrow. What had happened while she was at work?

Adrien walks to the door, and Marinette follows him. “Um, Adrien?” She asks.

“Yeah?” He asks, still looking at her with those mint green eyes and a blinding smile.

“Thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it.” Marinette says, placing a hand on his arm.

“You really don’t need to say thank you. I was just trying to help.”

Marinette shakes her head. “No! I want to say thank you! Um, why don’t I buy you dinner or something. Next Friday?”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “Uh, sure. Okay. I’ll see you then?”

Marinette nods. “Great!”

Once Adrien leaves, Marinette whirls around to see Sara and Sabine both staring at her. They each had a wide grin on their face.

“What?” Marinette asks them.

Sara giggles, jumping in her seat. Sabine bites her lip, not looking too far off from the little girl’s reaction. 

“We’re just wondering…” Sabine murmurs. “What are you gonna wear on your date?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time <3<3<3


	18. I'm Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I posted so late! It's been a day. 
> 
> ENJOY!

Marinette felt her vision tunnel as she fell backwards. 

About an hour ago, a new akuma attack had been reported. Marinette, who was in the middle of a very important meeting, had decided to intercept the villain.

However, an hour had passed, and she was no closer to beating the damned thing. She couldn’t break it, which wasn’t out of the norm these days, and she could barely get close enough to the akuma to rip the object away.

As Marinette had gotten closer to them again, the akuma had kicked her in the  _ face _ . Seriously! Who does that?

Marinette stumbles backwards. She blinks back the stars in her eyes, and feels her legs give out from under her. A headache formed behind her head. 

Without warning, Marinette drops to the ground, her eyes falling shut.

*

“Um, hello? Ladybug? Are you waking up?”

Marinette’s eyes flutter open, and she finds herself staring into bright, green eyes, surrounded by a black mask. 

Marinette groans, trying to figure out where she was. All that she could see was white concrete, and the Parisian skyline.

“Hey! You’re awake.” Chat Noir says, giving her a cheshire grin. He holds up three fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Ladybug flips her middle finger in response. 

“Okay, okay. That’s good.” Chat answers, moving away as she finally sits up.

“Where am I? Where did you take me?” She groans, placing a thumb and forefinger to her temples.

Chat shrugs. “Well, you passed out, so I moved you away before the akuma could do anything to you. We’re on a rooftop a little bit away from the attack.”

“And you just left?!” She hisses, trying and failing to get to her feet. 

“Well, I can’t do anything without you, so, I figured I’d make sure that you don’t have a concussion before doing anything.”

Marinette purses her lips together. “Why do you care?”

“Cause you save the day, right? I’ve seen what you do. You’re the leader, it would be pretty difficult to save anyone without you.”

Marinette chuckles. “Oh! So you’ve been stalking me?”

Chat shakes his head. “Wha- no! That’s not- That’s not what I meant at all-”

“Whatever. I don’t need you, anyway.” Marinette answers. “I’ve been doing great with the team that I’ve had for twelve years, and I’m sorry but you didn’t turn your application in on time.”

Chat glares at her. “I don’t want to be part of your team.”

“Yeah?” Marinette asks, finally getting to her feet. “Then why have you been ‘helping’ during the akuma attacks, and stalking us.”

“Because I  _ want _ to help. I don’t care what I have to do, or who I have to work with to achieve that.” 

Marinette bristles, feeling a sense of… understanding. “Whatever. I have to go defeat that akuma.” She walks away from him. “You can stay in the shadows, if you want.”

“You never even asked for my name!” He calls. 

Marinette turns around, raising an eyebrow. “That’s because I don’t need it, kitty!” 

*

Ladybug jumps back into the fight. 

“Come back for more?” The akuma asks, grinning wickedly. “I thought you had already been quite knocked out after our last go around!” 

“Yeah, well-” Ladybug starts, but is promptly cut off by the sound of someone landing next to her.

“This time she has help!” 

Marinette whirls to see Chat standing next to her, his eyes fixed on the villain in front of them. 

“I thought you would stay in the shadows.” She murmurs.

He shakes his head. “Not this time.”

“Well, just try not to get in my way.” She huffs, spinning her yoyo.

“Whatever you say, bugaboo.” 

He runs towards the akuma, swinging his staff down on them.

“What did you just call me?!”

*

“Master…” Wayzz murmurs, staring ahead. “The TV…”

Fu hobbles forward, a hot cup of tea in his hand. “What are you blabbering on about, Wayzz?”

“Look!” Wayzz exclaims, pointing at the screen. On the television was live footage of the current akuma attack.

At the sight, Fu nearly drops his mug. 

Marinette was fighting the new villain, but at her side was a new hero. A hero that no one had ever seen before. He was clad in black leather, and had green cat eyes. 

The two heroes worked in perfect synchrony, her going high when he went low. Him fighting from afar while she stayed close. They moved like they were meant to move together, and it didn’t look like this was the first time they had did this either.

“If that’s who I think it is…” Fu murmurs, stroking his goatee. 

Wayzz rolls his eyes. “ _ If _ ? I can sense Plagg’s energy a mile away. That is most certainly his wielder.”

“Interesting…” Fu murmurs, his mouth twitching into a smile.

Wayzz glares at him. “What is so interesting?” He asks, clearly irritated.

Fu smiles. “It’s just… I was right.”

“You- you’re never right! Why do you assume that you were right about this? How do you even know that that is the boy you chose originally.”

“Because.” Fu says, sitting down, taking a sip of his tea. “The universe intended them to meet. I am  _ sure _ of it. They were made for each other.”

*

“Cataclysm!” Marinette hears the shout from behind, and on instinct, she ducks. 

Chat jumps over her, and his hand lands on the akumatized object. Marinette’s eyebrows furrow, watching as the object turns to ash. 

The akuma turns back to their normal self, blinking in confusion at the two heroes. 

Chat turns to Ladybug, a bright grin on his face. Ladybug can’t help but return the smile. He steps closer to her, one hand out as if in a high-five. Marinette was about to reciprocate, before remembering that she wasn’t supposed to like him, and was even suspicious of him.

She turns away from Chat, and continues purifying the akuma and sending out the miraculous ladybug. 

“Um, thanks for the help…” Ladybug says awkwardly.

“Of course. Like I said, I just want to help… bugaboo.”

“I don’t like it when you call me bugaboo.”

“Well, I didn’t like it when you called me kitty.” Chat responds, raising an eyebrow at her. 

Ladybug shrugs. “What am I supposed to call you?”

“Chat Noir.” He answers. “And, I’d love to make idle chit-chat, but I’m actually late for a meeting.” He jumps away, and calls over his shoulder, “Until next time, m’lady!”

Marinette simmers. “I am  _ not  _ your lady!” 

It takes approximately ten minutes for Marinette to swing home. She enters her room through her open window, and immediately goes searching for shoes. 

Once she puts on her most comfortable (so not very) pair of high heels, she hands Tikki a macaroon. 

The little kwami floats up to her, smiling widely. “You look nervous.”

“Of course I am, this is the first one on one dinner I’ve had with a man in almost six years.” Marinette murmurs, before tilting her head at her kwami. “You look… chipper.”

Tikki shrugs, but she can’t manage to hide the smile on her face. “It’s… been a long time since I’ve… had such a long fight.” She says shortly, her eyes shifting. Tikki’s eyes fly to Marinette’s alarm clock. “Oh! He’s gonna be here any minute! You have to go!” 

Marinette hurries around her room, spritzing perfume, saying ‘goodbye’ to the babysitter, and pulling her dress down and up about a billion times.

She hurries down the steps of her building as fast as she can in her heels, before reaching the sidewalk. 

“Marinette?” A voice asks, and she turns around to come face to face with green eyes and blonde hair.

“Adrien! Hey! Are you ready to go?” She asks, slightly breathless from both nerves and hustling.

“Lead the way, m’lady!” He jokes, gesturing forward.

“Please don’t call me m’lady.” Marinette murmurs.

If either of them feel a tinge of familiarity, they don’t mention it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNTIL NEXT TIME <3<3<3


	19. Secret Siren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I just posted, but I wanted to update again, so...
> 
> TW// Referenced/implied homophobia
> 
> ENJOY!

“So…” Adrien says softly as they walk down the street. “How’s the restaurant we’re going to?”

Marinette shrugs. “I like it. Any time we go out, Sara begs to go there. They have really nice bread.”

Adrien nods, as if Marinette’s rambling wasn’t  _ totally  _ awkward.

“How _ is  _ Sara doing?” Adrien asks, stuffing his hands into his pockets. 

“Oh!” Marinette murmurs, looking at him. “She’s doing good. She’s actually spending the weekend with her father. The sitter is watching her until he picks her up.”

“Her dad?” Adrien questions. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the story there?”

Marinette hesitates. Adrien didn’t sound mocking, he didn’t sound judgemental. In fact, there was genuine curiosity in his face, so Marinette decides to answer his question.

“Um, we dated a little in high school. Broke up when he went off to uni, but stayed friends. Um, then in the beginning of university I got into a  _ really  _ awful relationship.” 

Adrien groans. “Oof.”

“Yeah, we met in a design class. He was  _ obsessed _ with trying to one up me. He was the worst decision I ever made. Anyway, I finally worked up the courage to break up with him.”

Adrien cups his hands around his mouth, and whisper yells, “Whoo. Go, Marinette!”

She giggles. “Yeah, well my first Valentine’s Day alone, I spent it with Sara’s father, Luka.”

“I think I can sense where this is going?” Adrien asks.

Marinette nods. “Yeah, I got pregnant. We decided to stay friends, and co-parent. He actually has a girlfriend, Kagami. She’s one of my best friends, and Sara adores her.”

“That’s really cool.” Adrien says, nodding. “I’m sure he’s a great guy.”

“How are you so sure?” Marinette asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I mean, he has to be for you to like him.” Adrien says as if it’s the simplest thing in the world. 

For some reason, Marinette blushes. 

“Well, what about you?” She asks, lightly bumping shoulders with him. “You’ve got to have a story.”

Adrien laughs. “Yeah, no.” 

“Come on! I told you my story, it’s only fair.”

“I don’t have any interesting stories.” He admits. “My life is not fun.”

Marinette shrugs. “Let me be the judge of that!” 

“Well, uh… up until the age of eighteen, I didn’t date.”

Marinette rolls her eyes. “I doubt that.”

“For high school, I went to an all boys private school in England. My dad had a pretty strict image that he wanted me to maintain, and…” He huffs out a breath in annoyance. “Dating my classmates wasn’t part of that.”

Marinette’s mouth drops open in disbelief. “You’ve got to be joking!” 

The blonde shakes his head. “Even if it wasn’t, my dad didn’t want me to date until I was out of high school. So, when I went to Uni, he paired me with someone.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Like… a publicity stunt?”

“Yup!” Adrien sighs. “With the  _ worst _ human being I’ve ever met. She was literally the devil incarnate. I hated her. I  _ still  _ hate her. She’s the reason I finally left the brand.”

“You… what?” Marinette questions, tilting her head at him. “You… left? But, when your father was imprisoned, you came back-”

“Because he left it to me, and the vp needed some help before finally taking over. I told you, I only wanted people to keep their jobs. I had no intention of coming back to the brand, or… Paris for that matter.” He sighs, rubbing a hand down his face. “Sorry. That was too much information.” 

“No, it’s fine.” Marinette murmurs, her mind spinning. “What’d you go to University for?”

“Physics.” Adrien answers.

Marinette’s eyes widen. “Wow.” She murmurs.

“Surprised?” Adrien asks, grinning.

“I mean, a little.” Mari admits. “I mean, you  _ are  _ the heir of a multi-million dollar company. I thought business would be where you’d go.”

Adrien hums in agreement. “Yeah, when my dad paid for everything, he made me major in business. But, after the whole dating fiasco in my first year, I applied for a scholarship, and the school let me in. I finally changed majors, and left my father’s hold.” 

Marinette smiles, before noticing a familiar neon sign. “Ooh! We’re here!” 

*

“No!” Adrien laughs, covering his mouth in an attempt to appear slightly decent.

Marinette nods, not making eye contact from her embarrassment. “Yeah! Fell right down! Dropped all of my macaroons. It was the worst.”

“I just can’t see you as clumsy!” Adrien admits. “You always seem so confident and sure of yourself!”

“Says the guy I bumped into  _ twice _ .” She murmurs, taking a bite of her chocolate cake. The pastry melts in her mouth.

“You were right, this place is really great.” Adrien admits. “I had a really nice time.”

“Aren’t you supposed to say that when we part ways?” Marinette questions, pointing her fork at him.

He shrugs. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a meal with…  _ anyone _ . I haven’t really made any friends since coming to Paris. In all honesty, Sara has been the closest thing to a confidant that I’ve had in twelve years.”   
  


“You two really bonded.” Marinette notices. 

He nods. “She’s a really great kid. You did a really great job.”

Marinette blushes again. “Thanks…” 

*

“Okay… cats or dogs?” Marinette asks, spinning around to look at Adrien.

“Cats.” He says immediately. 

Marinette laughs. “Yes! Everyone always says dog, but I just love cats.”

“They can be lazy and… stubborn, but a loyal cat is the greatest.” He says, a fond smile on his cat.

“Speaking from experience?” Marinette questions. 

Adrien nods. “Yeah, you can say that.” He stops suddenly, and Marinette looks around in confusion. “This is my stop.”

“I thought you said you lived at the Agreste manor.”

Adrien shudders. “Have you seen the place? At least when I was younger, my dad and his assistant were always there. Now it’s just empty. I keep it up for parties or something, but I mostly stay here.”

“Huh…” Marinette says, worrying at her lower lip. 

Suddenly, a crash of thunder breaks through the air, and Marinette groans. “Shoot. It’s gonna rain, and I forgot an umbrella.”

Adrien’s eyes widen. “Oh no! Um, give me a second!” He exclaims, running into his building.

Marinette stands there, feeling the first drops of rain hit her skin. She wraps her arms around herself, and watches as Adrien returns. He holds out a black umbrella.

“Here.”

Marinette shakes her head. “I’m not going to take your umbrella.”

“Just give it back on Monday! Take it!” He says, opening it up, and handing it out to her.

Marinette sighs, and grabs the handle. Her and Adrien’s fingers brush for a second, and a flash of lighting startles her.

The umbrella closes around her, because of course it does, and she hears Adrien laugh. Opening it up again, she sees the pure joy on the man’s face, and lets out a soft giggle of her own. 

“Um, thanks.” She murmurs. “I guess I’ll see you on Monday?”

“Monday.” Adrien responds, turning around to head back into his building.

Marinette lightly pats her bag, and whispers, “Tikki?”

“Yeah, Mari?” Tikki’s soft voice floats out.

“It can’t be him.” She says.

“How do you know?” Tikki asks, a strange lilt in her voice that Marinette can’t quite place.

“I just- it can’t be him.” She answers. And if her heart skips a beat when she replays the nights events- well, that’s for her to know, and her only.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNTIL NEXT TIME <3<3<3


	20. I'm Blocking Out Your Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anything about French trials or laws, or anything really. Sorry, I mean no disrespect.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Are you  _ sure _ ?” Alya asks Nino for the thousandth time. 

The man was holding their son in his arms, and giving his wife a soft smile. “Alya, come on. You  _ have  _ to go.”

“No I don’t.” She argues, rubbing a hand down Tony’s back. “Work doesn’t need me back for a while.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.” Nino says, giving her a pointed look. “She needs you there more than she needs me.”

Alya’s shoulders sink. “I know.” She answers. “They both do.”

“And I don’t think you’d be cool finding things out second hand.” Nino reminds her. “We’ll be fine for a few hours.”

Alya nods. “You’re right. It’s just so difficult to leave him.”

“We’re both gonna have to do it eventually.” Nino sighs, wrapping his free arm around the woman. 

Alya grumbles into his chest, but remains mostly silent. 

The moment is cut off by a sharp ringing from Alya’s pocket. “Oh!” She gasps, pulling out her phone. “Hey, Mari!”

There is a moment of silence before Alya speaks again. “Yeah! On my way!” Another moment. “Yup! Love you! Bye!”

Nino was beyond shocked when she  _ actually  _ hung up after saying goodbye.

“Alright, I’ve gotta go.” Alya sighs.

“Marinette in a hurry?” Nino questions, kissing her cheek goodbye.

Alya shakes her head. “No. If I stay any longer, I’m never gonna leave.” She murmurs, before pressing kisses to Tony’s cheek. “Bye bye Mr. Man! I love you!” 

Alya exits the house, and Nino holds Tony closer to look him in the eyes. “We’re gonna be cool while Mommy is away, right?”

He suddenly inhales a toxic smell coming from the small human. “I’m gonna take that as a ‘no’.”

*

“So, who was it that you were having dinner with the other night?” Mylene questions Marinette as they sit in her living room.

Chloe and Alix, the other attendees, turn their heads in Marinette’s direction.

Marinette’s mouth drops open, both from being shocked and flustered. “Wha- I- How did you know I was having dinner with anyone?”

“Me and Ivan were passing by that restaurant that you always go to, and we saw you through the window.” Mylene says. “I found it weird that you were going on a date, and hadn’t said anything.”

“It was  _ not  _ a date.” Marinette corrects. Quite forcefully I might add.

“Ooh! Someone’s on the offense. Which means it was a bad date, or a  _ very very  _ good date.” Alix says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Marinette promptly smacks her upside the head. “It was a friendly dinner. I just bought it for him because he helped pick Sara up from school.”

“He’s already met Sara?” Chloe asks. “That must mean it’s getting serious!”

“Shut up!” Marinette hisses.

Mylene giggles. “I mean, come on, Marinette! He was kind of cute. If you’re not already dating, I would suggest you get started.”

“I  _ will  _ hit you.” The woman threatens. 

“What’d he look like?” Alix asks, leaning forward. 

“Why would you care?” Marinette sighs.

“Just because I’m a lesbian, does not mean I can’t ask for details!” Alix glowers.

Mylene shrugs. “The lighting was sort of dim, but I think he was blonde-ish. And light eyes. Maybe hazel or green.”

Chloe’s mouth drops open, staring at Marinette in astonishment. “Oh my, gosh! You went out with Adrien!” It wasn’t a question.

Alix immediately straightens up. “Wait! Like, Adrien… Agreste?  _ That  _ Adrien?”

Marinette’s head falls into her hands. This was exactly what she had been hoping to avoid.

“The guy that you were accusing of being Hawkmoth like two months ago?”

Marinette slowly lifts her head up. “Maybe…”

“Hey guys!” Alya calls as she opens the front door. She seems to immediately pick up on the tense vibes. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope!” Marinette chirps, jumping to her feet. “Should we get going?”

“This conversation is not over!” Alix argues.

Chloe gently pats the shorter woman’s shoulder. “I think it is.” She says, sashaying to Mari and Alya’s shoulder.

“Don’t say it.” Marinette begs, seeing the smirk forming on the blonde’s face.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Chloe murmurs into her ear. “But, I told you so.”

*

The five women sit behind the prosecution. Their group only took up half of one row, Marinette marking the middle. 

The defense had not yet arrived, and Marinette feels her heart rate pick up every moment that they weren’t there. 

A large shadow looms over Marinette, and she turns her head to see a behemoth of a man standing at the entrance of their row. He tilts his head, and gestures forward. A question, she realizes.

“No ones sitting here.” She assures him, and the man nods.

He sits down, making sure not to squish Marinette, and she smiles at the act. 

A door to the court room opens, and Marinette lets the air rush out of her as she sees Gabriel Agreste answer.

The man still haunted her nightmares sometimes. He plagued her every waking minute for twelve years, and that's not something she could just forget now that he was behind bars.

He was wearing a terrible candy cane striped suit. Mari nearly lunges at the guards that unchain him. He didn’t deserve to be un-shackled.

Alya grabs her hand, giving it a tight, reassuring squeeze.

Marinette can’t help but delight in the fact that little to no people were sitting in the rows of seats behind Gabriel. That’s what happens when you spent more than a decade terrorizing every person in Paris.

The judge arrives, his gaze sweeping over the room. “Excuse me, where is the defense?” 

The doors behind the rows open, and a voice echoes throughout the room. “I’m so sorry! Traffic was difficult!” 

The breath catches in Marinette’s throat.  _ Was that? No. It couldn’t be _ .

A woman with olive skin and long, brown hair struts down the aisle. Marinette would punch her if she had reached.

“Is that…?” She hears Chloe whisper. 

“Yup.” Alya says, her tone ice cold. “Lila Rossi. She’s Agreste’s defense attorney.”

*

The trial was as difficult as Marinette knew it was going to be. Victim after victim came to the stand. They each relived what they remembered of their akumatizations.

Intense emotion, deep voice, trauma. 

However, none of them could really point a good picture.

Marinette hated to admit it, but Lila was a good lawyer. Of course she was, she was pretty much a pathological liar when she was  _ fourteen _ .

She showed doubt, anybody could be Hawkmoth, Agreste was just the one that Ladybug pointed the finger at. It didn’t help that Gabriel had staged his own akumatization, that alone would have redeemed him.

“One more witness before conclusions, then we send the jury away.” The judge warned the prosecutor. Marinette didn’t know or care what his name was. 

She thinks that she sees Gabriel and Lila share a smile. They think that they win. Honestly, they were probably right.

A soft sound of doors opening interrupted, but Marinette couldn’t see who had entered. 

The attorney lets out a sigh. “Yes.” He says. “Prosecution calls Nathalie Sanceour to the stand.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. She watches as the familiar woman hobbles down the aisle. 

The warden has to help her sit down, but once she is at the stand, she radiates a sense of authority that Marinette hadn’t known she was capable of.

She’s pretty sure that she sees Lila’s face stiffen for a second, before going back to it’s mask of calm.

Nathalie smiles as she begins being questioned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added a lot, and this might be moving too quick or something? Tell me what you think!
> 
> I'm think of making a one shot book of things that happened before this story starts? 
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	21. I've Had My Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!

“My name is Nathalie Sanceour,” The older woman begins. “And I was complicit in the terrorizing of Paris.” 

Mumbling immediately rings through the room, and the judge bangs his gavel down to restore peace.

“Please continue, Ms. Sanceour.” He says, looking at Nathalie with something that Marinette recognizes as disgust.

Nathalie continues as if she hadn’t been interrupted in the first place. “I witnessed Gabriel Agreste terrorize the citizens of Paris for more than a decade under the guise of the villain, Hawkmoth.” 

“Objection!” Lila yells. 

“On what grounds, Ms. Rossi?” The judge asks. Lila is silent, and the judge rolls his eyes. “Ms. Sanceour.”

“I aided him in his goal. This includes picking targets, covering for him while he was transformed, and becoming Mayura to increase the danger.”

The prosecutor paces in front Nathalie. “And, why did Gabriel do what he did?”

“He believed that if he took the Ladybug earrings, he would get a wish. His wish would to bring his wife back from her coma.”

More muttering broke out, but the judge didn’t stop it this time. “But, Mrs. Agreste was never reported in being in a coma.”

“That’s right.” Nathalie says. “Because Gabriel placed her in a chamber in his basement to keep her alive.”

Marinette tilts her head at Nathalie. Now  _ that  _ had not been mentioned before.

“And who else knew about this?” The prosecution asks.

“As far as I know, only me and Gabriel.”

The prosecution goes back to his desk. “As the defense knows, yesterday the police went back to Agreste Manor to search his house. However, with guidance from Ms. Sanceour, this time they discovered the mentioned basement, along with Mrs. Agreste’s body. She died two hours later.”

Marinette winces. She sees Nathalie sigh, and she could’ve sworn she saw Gabriel shudder. 

The lawyer places photos in front of the jury. “These are the photos that were taken by the police. As you can see, it fits with Ms. Sanceour’s story.”

Chloe looks over at Marinette, her eyes wide. She looks sad, and Marinette remembers that she, too, knew Mrs. Agreste. She mouths something, and Marinette can’t help but feel a smile tug at the corner of her lips. 

“ _ They got him _ .”

*

“Guilty.” 

The word hung over the entire courtroom. It was so incredibly silent that you could hear a pin drop.

And then cheers sounded. People stood. Even the prosecutor raised his arms and let out a loud ‘whoop’.

The warden went over to Gabriel, and chained him back up. Lila clenched her fists, but otherwise looked completely natural. She looked like she expected the verdict.

Marinette wraps Alya and Chloe in a hug, tears springing to her eyes. They won. He was convicted. Gabriel Agreste would never be able to hurt anyone ever again. 

The man next to Marinette stands up. He walks out of his seat, and Marinette watches as he gets Gabriel’s attention, and promptly flips him off. 

Marinette was liking him more and more.

And that’s when she sees him. Standing in the back of the courtroom, his green eyes locked on Gabriel, a small smile playing across his lips. 

“Adrien.” Marinette says before she can stop herself, and walks towards the man. 

“Marinette!” Adrien exclaims, obviously surprised to see her there. “What are… what are you doing here?”

Marinette blinks at him a few times before clearing her thoughts. “Uh, my friend is writing about the trial. I’m here for… moral support.” 

Adrien nods, as if he believed her totally blatant lie. “Oh, well, it was nice running into you. I should get going. Um, I’ll see you later?”

“Yup!” Marinette answers. 

Adrien walks away, towards the big man that Marinette had been sitting next to earlier. The man presses a gentle pat on Adrien’s shoulder. Mari watches as Nathalie limps over to the two men. 

That’s when they make eye contact.

The look that Nathalie gave her sent chills down her spine.

Marinette jumps as she feels a hand on her own shoulder. “Come on, Mari.” Mylene murmurs, the rest of their friends behind her. “Let’s go.”

*

“Just answer me!” 

“She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to, Alix!” 

“That’s just downright suspicious, Chloe!” 

“ENOUGH!” Marinette shouts, whirling around at her two friends. “My four year old handles conflict better than you two!”

“Did you hear my question, Marinette?” Alix asks, raising an eyebrow at the woman. “Did you get any information on Adrien?”

Marinette groans, pinching her nose in frustration. “I am only going to answer you once. So listen closely.”

The four other women lean in closer.

“No, I do not think that Adrien is Hawkmoth. No, I have not ruled him out of suspects. He just doesn’t have as much motive as I thought he did. We did  _ not  _ go out on a date, but I think I have found a new friend in him. That is all.”

Alix squints at her, but doesn’t say anything. Marinette finally quieted her. 

“So you don’t like him?” Chloe asks, raising a dubious eyebrow at her friend. “Romantically, I mean.”

Marinette takes a deep breath. “No.” She answers.

And maybe, just maybe, a tiny voice in the back of her mind tells her that she is definitely lying. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have not already, you should read the companion book to this, How Does A Moment Last Forever. It is a oneshot book about what happened in the years before Adrien came back to Paris. You don't have to read it, but if you want more of the series, it should be a good read.
> 
> UNTIL NEXT TIME <3<3<3


	22. I Don't Need Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!

_ 12 Years Ago… _

_ Adrien slumps on the bed in his new dorm room. Gorille had just finished bringing in all of his things, and finally wished him goodbye with a short, bone crushing hug.  _

_ He had a single room. Even when he was away from his father, the man still managed to do his best to isolate him. _

_ He stares at the news app on his phone, seeing the reports that had been spewing out for the last few hours. A super-villain named Stoneheart had shown up, but been defeated by a new superhero named Ladybug.  _

_ Why did everything interesting happen when Adrien wasn’t around? _

_ Putting his phone down, Adrien picks up his backpack. He rifles through the contents, before coming across the mysterious box that he had stuffed in there earlier. _

_ He holds it in his hand, enjoying the smooth texture of the wood, and memorizing the red patterns across the top. _

_ Finally, he opens up the lid. A flash of white light emanates from inside, and Adrien drops the box in surprise.  _

_ Then, a creature seems to materialize in the still open box. He had black fur, and green cat eyes. Cat ears rested on the top of his head, and long whiskers sprouted from his face. _

_ Adrien yelps, scrambling away from the box, his eyes on the strange creature. _

_ The little cat looking thing just yawns, raising a paw to his mouth. “Hey.” He says, looking at Adrien. _

_ Adrien moves closer, inspecting the creature. “Are you one of those magical genies from the stories?”  _

_ The cat gives him a look that immediately makes Adrien feel ashamed. “No. I’m a  _ kwami _. I grant magical powers. Yada yada yada, you got anything to eat?” _

_ Adrien just shakes his head a few times, feeling certain that he was hallucinating. “No. This- this can’t be happening. Is this a practical joke from my father? Wait! No, it can’t be, he has no sense of humor.” _

_ The cat- kwami?- just floats, still giving the boy strange looks.  _

_ Adrien finally looks back at the kwami. “Um, what’s your name?” _

_ “Plagg. Now, seriously, do you have anything to eat? I wanna fill my stomach before we have to…” He shudders. “Fight.” _

_ “Why are you here? Adrien asks, rifling around the room to see if he had anything for Plagg to eat. He finally finds a snack pack of pretzel sticks and cheese whiz and hands it to the creature. “Why me?” _

_ Plagg shrugs, moving straight past the pretzels and swiping a paw into the cheese. “You were chosen to defend Paris. That’s all I know. This cheese tastes terrible by the way.” _

_ Adrien stills, staring at Plagg. “Paris?” He asks. _

_ “Yeah.” Plagg answers. “Yet, you don’t mention your terrible arrangement of food.” _

_ “Plagg…” Adrien says. “We’re not in Paris.” _

_ Plagg scoffs, raising a dubious eyebrow at the blonde. “What?” _

_ “We’re in London.” _

_ Plagg’s smirk slowly leaves his face, as he takes in the room. “You’re joking, right?” _

_ “I wish.” Adrien sighs, falling back on to his bed. _

_ “Oh, crap. Tikki is going to kill me.” _

_ * _

“Are you ready for this, kid?” Plagg asks Adrien from inside the boy’s front pocket.

Adrien nods hesitantly. “Yeah.” He murmurs. “I need to do this.”

“No you don’t. You can go back if you want. You don’t owe him anything.”

“No, but I owe it to myself to finally get all of this off my chest.” He answers. Plagg lightly pats his chest from inside the pocket.

Adrien looks up, feeling his throat go dry as he finally sees the person he had come to see walk up to him.

“Hello, son.” Gabriel says, shifting as he is chained to the visitor table.

“Hi.” Adrien mumbles, wincing at the title his father had used for him. It was one he hadn’t used in years, and had been hoping to never hear again.

“I guess you won’t have to prepare the estate for me like I asked.” Gabriel mutters, not making eye contact.

Adrien hums in agreement. Yet another good reason his father was in jail. He hadn’t stepped foot in that house since the week he spent in Paris looking for an apartment.

“Did you hear about your mother?” Gabriel asks, venom spitting from his tongue. “It’s all her fault you know.”

Adrien winces. “You shouldn’t blame Nathalie.”

“Not for that.” Gabriel concedes, leaning in closer. “I’m talking about Ladybug.”

Adrien feels his stomach plummet. “Father..” He says. 

“If she had just given me her earrings, your mother would still be alive. This is  _ all _ -”

“Mother died a long time ago. Now she can at least be at peace.” Adrien interrupts the man. It was odd, he’d never done that before. 

Gabriel gave Adrien a look that could only be called betrayal. 

“I didn’t come to discuss mother’s passing.” Adrien says. “I came to get some things off of my chest, and for once, you’re going to listen.”

“You… were a terrible father.” Adrien says, looking Gabriel in the eyes. “You died when mother did, and I don’t mean her official death two weeks ago. I’d like to think that there was a happier time between the two of us, but we both know that that would be a lie.”

“Everything I did, I did for you!” Gabriel hisses.

Adrien shakes his head sadly. “No. You did it for yourself. I know that. Nathalie knows that. I think you should finally accept it yourself. When I heard the news that you were arrested for being Hawkmoth, I couldn’t even think ‘you would never do that’. Because the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

“You sent me to London when I was fourteen. And Stoneheart attacked  _ as _ I got onto my train.”

“I sent you away to protect you.”

“If you really cared about me, then why did you pretty much stop existing in my life after I left? Gorille would come visit me every birthday and Christmas. Nathalie would send me a gift every now and then. You didn’t even ask her to send me one from you.

“I am… so glad that you were convicted for your crimes.” Adrien says, looking down. 

Gabriel scoffs. “You traitor. Did you know about Nathalie too?”

Adrien smiles. “I was the one that asked her to testify.”

Adrien stands up, just as Gabriel tries to move his hands up. The anger in the man’s eyes were something that teenage Adrien would’ve feared. Adult Adrien actually took pleasure in the ill feelings his father held for him. 

Adrien starts walking away, when Gabriel yells, “You are no son of mine!” 

“You’re right,” Adrien answers, smiling slightly. “I stopped being your son years ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't read, How Does A Moment Last Forever, you still can, I guess. Um, you can also turn in suggestions for that story, since I really only had the first one planned out. 
> 
> The other day I was thinking that there probably won't be that many chapters left, and then I realized that I literally have so much planned for this story that I haven't gotten to yet ToT
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	23. I'm Afraid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm kind of late, but Lucifer season 5a came out today, and I've been watching that all day. 
> 
> ENJOY!

“Aunt Juleka!” Sara screams as she sees her father’s sister walk through the front door. “You’re back!” 

“Yeah, I got back into town yesterday, bug!” Juleka laughs, wrapping her arms around the little girl. 

All of team Miraculous was gathered in Marinette’s living room, flutes of champagne and celebration taking hold of them all.

“He’s so cute!” Sabrina squeals, cooing at baby Tony from over Alya’s shoulder. She turns to Chloe. “I want one!” 

Chloe pats her girlfriend’s shoulder. “We’ll cross that bridge eventually.” 

Marinette watches as Sara and Ben run back to her room, deciding to play than to spend any more time with the adults. 

Now was her chance. 

She picks up a glass of sparkling grape juice, and walks towards the couch. Master Fu was sitting beside her, sipping from his tea. Even when he left his house, he didn’t change his habits.

“Master Fu, can I ask you something?” Marinette asks innocently.

He nods. “Sure, Marinette.” 

“Why did Gabriel Agreste think that he would get a wish if he stole my miraculous?” The room goes silent, all eyes on the two of them. “And don’t say it was another feature you never told me about, because I’m certain I would’ve inadvertently erased Gabriel Agreste from existence years ago, and then we wouldn’t be in this whole mess!” 

Fu lightly coughs, setting his tea down. “How- how should I know? Crazy, white, rich people. They’re crazy.”

“Well, you aren’t wrong there.” Nino mutters, lightly patting Tony on his back.

Marinette just glares at the older man. “You’ve been keeping things from me far too long. I want answers.”

“And here I thought you invited me as a friendly thing. This is false pretenses!” Marinette just glares at the man, and so he sighs. “It’s a bit of a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

Fu moves closer to her. “Are you sure you want the story in front of all of them?”

Mari rolls her eyes. “This way, you’re pressured to tell me. If they aren’t here, you’ll brush this off forever.”

“Fine.” He huffs. Leaning backwards, he folds his hands over his stomach. “Well, in a way Gabriel Agreste was right. Your miraculous is one half of the ability to make any wish that you want.”

“ _ One half _ ?” Marinette questions. “What’s the other half?”

“Oh, is it mine?” Alya asks, leaning forward.

“Please, mine is way better!” Alix jumps in. 

Kim rolls his eyes. “It has to be mine!” 

“It is none of yours!” Fu interrupts. 

Marinette stares at him. “None of theirs? But… there are no more miraculous.” Fu purses his lips. “There  _ are  _ no more miraculous, right?” 

”Do you happen to remember the slot that your earrings would go, if you weren’t wearing them? The slot next to it?”

“Yeah.” Mari answers, narrowing her eyes at the old man. “You told me that each of the earrings got their own spot.”

“I may have...  _ over exaggerated  _ that.” 

“You mean you lied?” She deadpans. 

Fu wrings his hands together. “‘Lie’ is such an ugly word.” Mari waits for a second. “But it would probably be the one most appropriate.”

Nathaniel raises an eyebrow at Marinette. “Is it always like this?” Marinette nods. 

Fu continues as if he had never been interrupted.  _ What’s new?  _

“Did Tikki happen to mention, when you first became Ladybug, a partner that you would get?”

“She got one. She got a whole team.” Alya says, wrapping an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. 

Marinette remains silent. Memories flew through her mind, of nerves, and fright, and resentment. Resentment for someone she never even met. 

“She… she told me that I wouldn’t be working alone. And then… I did. That was the last time she mentioned it.” Marinette answers, and she sees the questioning looks from the rest of her friends. 

Mylene tilts her head to the side. “You never mentioned that before.”

“I didn’t?” Marinette asks. Her hand flies to her mouth. “Oh, no! Am I turning into Fu?”

“Anyways,” Fu continues. “Tikki is the Kwami of creation. But with creation must come… destruction.”

Nini raises a hand. “Wait! You’re saying there is a Kwami that’s whole purpose is to destroy things? Is it… like… a villain?”

“Well,” Fu starts, leaning back. 

A shriek comes from Marinette’s room. “NO!” A red streak flies into the living room. “HE IS NOT A VILLAIN! I SWEAR TO WAYZZ, FU IF YOU WERE GOING TO SAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN NO-“ Tikki takes a calming breath. “This is why men shouldn’t be allowed to do things.”

Marinette holds a hand out to Tikki, and when she lands on it, she gently strokes the top of her head. “It’s okay, Tiks, breathe.”

“Plagg is not a villain.” Fu murmurs, holding out his hands in a placating manner at Tikki. “Maybe a little reckless at times-” Both kwami and chosen give the man matching glares, and he backtracks. “Plagg is Tikki’s yang in a way. Creation and destruction. The chosen of each of them have been working together for eons.”

“Except now.” Chloe murmurs. “Why is that?”

Fu lets out a deep breath. “Well, the day that I gave Marinette her miraculous… the other miraculous was sent somewhere else.”

“Oh! You sent it away so that the villain wouldn’t get it’s hands on it and make his wish?” Max asks.

Marinette scoffs. “He’s not smart enough for that.”

“Hey!” Fu complains.

“Says the man that gave the most powerful objects in the world to 14 year olds.” Tikki murmurs. Even Marinette didn’t know her Kwami had that much sass. 

“I gave Plagg to another. But, they both disappeared before Stoneheart first attacked.” Fu answers. 

“The person that you gave the miraculous to, took it and ran off?” Marinette asks, immediately standing up. “And you never told me?”

“Like you said, it eventually became safer to have them both farther away. I didn’t think that he intentionally did it, and so I thought not to say anything.” 

“That’s always your plan isn’t it?” She sits back down. “So, you’re saying that if someone got my miraculous, and this destruction miraculous, they’d be able to make any wish they want?”

“With a price. Say that you bring someone back to life, that would take the life of someone else. It is very dangerous, and not for use.”

Marinette bites her lip, a thought crossing her mind. “What is the animal that the miraculous is associated with?”

“It is the miraculous of the cat.” 

Marinette’s head goes into her hands. “Shi-”

A knocking at the door distracts her. Her head snaps up, Tikki flies away, and everyone gives her quizzical looks. “Were you expecting someone else?” 

Marinette shrugs, going to her door and opening it. When she sees who is on the other side, her eyes widen. “Adrien?” 

Behind her, she hears Fu cough on his tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, kudos, comment. 
> 
> UNTIL NEXT TIME <3<3<3


	24. What I'm Risking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I low key cried while writing this!
> 
> ENJOY!

“Hey! I got here as fast as I could! Are you okay?” Adrien asks, breathing faster than normal. 

Marinette just stares at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

Adrien takes out his phone. “You texted me. Said that there was some sort of emergency, and you needed me here as fast as possible.”

“I didn’t send that. I don’t even know where my phone is.” Marinette murmurs, looking around. All of her friends are giving her questioning looks. That's when a tiny human bullet flies straight past her and at Adrien.

“Adrien!” Sara squeals, wrapping her arms around his knees. The easiest place she could reach. 

Marinette looks down at the little girl, placing her hands on her hips. “Sara Chloe Dupain-Cheng-Couffaine, where is my phone?”

“On the kitchen counter where you left it.” Sara says, letting go of Adrien long enough to look at her mother. She innocently bats her eyes, and Marinette knows that she is guilty.

“What did I tell you about telling people about false emergencies?” She asks, crossing her arms. 

Sara shrugs. “I don’t know, I’ve never done it before.” Marinette sees Adrien wince behind her. Sara walks away, sitting in Kagami’s lap.

“I’m really sorry.” Marinette sighs.

“No! I am! I totally disrupted something.” Adrien exclaims. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s really no problem! Why don’t you come in?” 

Adrien hesitates, staring at all of the people. “Oh, I didn’t bring some- wait!” Adrien reaches into his pocket and pulls out a plastic bag filled with cheese.

Kim comes up from behind Mari. “Why did you just have that in your pocket?”

Adrien laughs. “I wish I had a good explanation.” 

Adrien hesitantly enters, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Hi.” He nervously says to the group.

“Hey, Adrien!” Chloe says, sending glares at the rest of the group as she stands up. “Come on! Let me get you something to drink!”

She pulls him towards the kitchen, Sara hopping off of Kagami to go with them, and everyone immediately turns to Marinette.

“Did you just invite the son of our enemy into your house? For our celebration of his father going to prison?” Alix asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

“He’s not that bad!” Marinette defends.

“He’s white and rich! How much worse can it get?” Kim hisses.

“If he was American.” Alya answers, gently rocking Tony. 

Nino looks around. “You guys do realize that he’s just in the other room? Right?”

The room falls silent. “Just be nice.” Marinette pleads, looking pointedly at Alix and Kim specifically.

Chloe and Adrien reenter, Sara peeking out from behind them. “So, what are you guys celebrating?” Adrien asks awkwardly.

“Your father going to jail.” Kim answers. The look that Marinette gave him could kill. And he’s pretty sure that a little part of him did die when her gaze landed on him.

Adrien is silent for a second before shrugging. “My kind of party!” 

*

Sara looks around at the many adults, getting more bored by the minute. 

Ben had come out of her room, now wrapped in his mother’s embrace. Now was the time. 

Standing up, Sara moves toward Adrien and Nino. They were both talking enthusiastically about something really dull. They most likely wouldn’t mind if she interrupted. 

She tugs on Adrien’s shirt. He looks at her, his brows furrowed. Sara leans towards his ear and whispers something. 

“I’m feeling kind of left out here.” Nino murmurs.

When she pulls back, Adrien bites his lip, before reaching into his shirt pocket. He hands her what he pulled out. “Thank you!” She squeals. 

Sara runs to her room, her hands wrapped around what Adrien has given her. 

Or, more like, who.

She opens up her hand, a ball of black immediately races out. “You kidnapped me!” Plagg screeches.

“No, I didn’t. Adrien gave you to me.” Sara replies. 

“Well then, he sold me!”

“I didn’t buy you, I borrowed you.” Sara corrects him, smiling in pride.

Plagg crosses his arms over his chest. “Still. Stranger danger.”

“We’re not strangers, Plagg.”

“Me moving out of Adrien’s pocket to sit shotgun while Adrien drove you to your grandparents house does not mean we know each other, kid.”

“Plagg, be nice to her.” A squeaky voice from inside Sara’s dollhouse pipes up. “She set this up.”

Plagg whirls around, and is immediately engulfed in a hug. “S- Su- Sugarcube?” He stutters out, slowly wrapping his own arms around her. 

Tikki giggles. “Who else?” 

Plagg slowly pulls away, looking at her as if she might disappear any moment. “I- I haven’t seen you in so long.”

Tikki shrugs. “Well, you’re back now.” 

“Aww.” Sara coos. “This is cuter than one of the times Alex and Mason got back together.”

“Wait! She knows about you?” Plagg asks Tikki. 

Tikki nods. “Yeah. She’s actually one of the smarter humans I’ve met.” She lowers her voice and leans towards Plagg. “Definitely smarter than her mother.”

“Oof. Your chosen too? Mine is not the brightest when it comes to super obvious things.”

Tikki giggles, holding onto Plagg’s hand. She leans in and pecks him on the cheek. “You smell like old cheese.” She mumbles. 

“Sorry about that.” Plagg mumbles. 

Tikki shakes her head. “It’s okay. It reminds me of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much to unpack 0o0
> 
> UNTIL NEXT TIME <3<3<3


	25. If I Follow You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this yesterday, which is good cause I haven’t been home today. 
> 
> ENJOY!!!

“She’s adorable.” Adrien laughs, looking at a picture of Sara when she was a baby. 

Marinette smiles. “This was the day she first discovered Frozen. She was so entranced that she didn’t notice I was taking the photo.”

“She’s a big Frozen fan?”

“Oh yeah. When the second one came out, she sang Into The Unknown on repeat for days.”

As the two were talking, the rest of their friends were in a slightly heated discussion. 

“How could you fall for his charms, Nino?” Kim asks the new father. 

Nino shrugs. “He’s nice. And he likes music. He even went to one of my performances when I was in Italy-”

“Oh, you’re hopeless!” Alix sighs, shaking her head at him.

“And you, Kagami?” Kim asks. “I expect this sort of behaviour from Marc-”

“Hey! I can’t help it if I’m friendly!”

“But not you! You guys were talking for, like, twelve minutes!”

Kagami shrugs. “We used to text for a time in highschool. Our parents were trying to arrange a marriage for us. We would talk about how terrible they really were.”

“How did either of your parents stay out of jail  _ this  _ long?” Alya asks, setting a reassuring hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“Kim, he’s not as bad as you think. He’s actually into science and math.” Max tells his boyfriend.

“Probably as a way to defeat us!” 

Mylene groans. “Can you be a little quieter. I have a sleeping toddler here!”

“Alright, Horrificator.” Kim jokes. Mylene gives him a sharp look. “I mean, Mrs. Bruel, the best woman in the entire world.”

Adrien and Marinette walk back to them, and Kim falls silent. 

“Hi.” Adrien says awkwardly. 

“Hi.” Kim says, leaning towards him. “Now, tell me, what do you intend to do with your college degree?”

Adrien, much like everyone else in the room, looks confused as to why that’s even a question someone would ask. “Um, I want to be a teacher.” He admits.

“For who?” 

“Physics students?” Adrien says slowly. He turns to Nino and murmurs. “What’s up with this dude?”

“No one knows.” Nino admits.

“You have any kids?” Alix steps in, going along with Kim’s interrogation.

Adrien shakes his head. “No. Though, I do have a… niece-sister-cousin type person.”

“Huh…” Both Kim and Alix say at the same time, rubbing their hands down their chins. 

“Anyways, what about the rest of you?” Adrien asks, clearly uncomfortable with the line of questioning. “What do you guys do?”

“I’m a model!” Juleka cuts in, giving warning looks to Alix and Kim. “I was actually a big fan of yours. You really inspired me.”

Adrien lets out a soft breath. “At least that time was good for someone. I’ve actually seen your work. You’re really good.” 

“Me, Ivan, and Rose are in a band.” Luka says. “It’s called Kitty Section.”

Adrien looks down at Fu, narrowing his eyes as if he recognized him. “Do I know you?” 

“NO!” Fu barks. “Um, no. I am a simple… acupressure-type-person. And, sometimes a Chinese teacher.”

“Oh.” Adrien murmurs. “That must be why you look familiar.” 

“YES!” Fu says. “Yes.” 

Sara enters the room, and holds something out to Adrien. He gently takes it, cupping it in both of his hands. “Thank you.” She giggles, running back to her room as fast as possible. 

Adrien places the object in his shirt pocket, not noticing the strange looks some people were giving him.

Namely, Alix and Kim.

A soft chiming goes through the room, and Adrien pulls out his phone. His face goes sort of chalky, and he sighs. “Um, I’m really sorry, but I have to go.”

“Oh! Is everything okay?” Marinette asks, walking him to the door.

Adrien nods. “Um, yeah. I just- It’s a family sort of thing.” 

Marinette immediately quiets. It was probably a sore subject. 

“Thank you for having me.” Adrien smiles at Marinette, before turning around.

Marinette gently shuts the door, before turning around to face the rest of her friends. “Okay! I need to have a talk with some of you. You know who you are.”

Everyone but Kim, Alix, and Fu exit the living room.

*

A few hours later, Marinette is cleaning up the mess that had occured when her friends left. 

Sara walks into the room, all dressed in her pjs, and clutching her Olaf stuffie. “Hey, Momma.” 

Marinette sighs, taking a seat on the couch. “Sara, come here. I need to talk to you.”

The small girl steps forward, her lips pursed. She could obviously tell that she was in trouble. “Yes, Mommy?”

“Why did you text Adrien to come over? And, why did you tell him that it was an emergency?”

Sara bites her lip. “I saw Adrien’s daddy’s name on the news. Adrien told me he doesn’t have many friends, so I thought he should come over. I didn’t think you would mind since you like him.”

Marinette’s cheeks pinken. “I mean, yeah, he is a good friend.”

Sara gives her mother a look. “I’m four, Mommy, not dumb.”

“Where did you learn this sass?” Marinette questions.

“TV.” Sara answers, shrugging her shoulders. “But, I think you should go for it. He’s really nice, and you deserve to be happy.”

Marinette groans. “Stop being so wise, mature, and sweet when I’m supposed to be reprimanding you.”

Sara giggles. “Can I go to bed now?” 

“Yeah.” Marinette answers, gesturing for her to go to her room.

Just as Marinette stands up, her phone goes off. She groans as she realizes what alarm that is. 

“An akuma alert.” Sara murmurs, whirling around to face her mother.

“It’s okay, baby. Just go to sleep. Everything is going to be fine.”

Sara hesitates, before running to Marinette and wrapping her arms around her waist. “I love you, Momma.” She whispers, before running back into her room.

As Marinette watches her daughter exit the room, she sighs. She just wanted to  _ sleep _ . 

“Tikki?” The kwami came towards her. She looked almost glowing. Her smile was incredibly bright. Way too bright for an akuma attack at 9 at night. “Spots on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNTIL NEXT TIME <3<3<3


	26. What Do You Want?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!

After the akuma was defeated, Marinette lands besides the two women that had helped her defeat it.

“How’s your first day back?” She asks Rena Rouge. 

Alya smirks like the fox she currently was. “Good. Kind of wish the fight was a little longer, though.”

Kagami laughs. “Not difficult enough for you?” 

“Almost nine months of being bedridden. I’m finally out in the field. I was kind of hoping for a good exercise.”

“I could never handle being pregnant.” Kagami murmurs. 

“Maybe.” Marinette murmurs, only barely paying attention to the conversation. Her eyes were trained on the surrounding buildings. 

He hadn’t showed up that day. Not visibly at least. After the whole world had seen him, Marinette figured the cat was pretty literally out of the bag. 

Apparently not, seeing as he hadn’t shown his face. 

Finally, she notices a black figure dashing across the buildings. Marinette immediately reaches for her yo-yo. “I have to go.”

“Yeah.” Alya murmurs. “See you later.”

Mari nods, swinging across the buildings. She was following the cat-eared man. He was fast, but  _ she  _ was a bug on a mission. 

She leaps onto the building that he was on, stopping him in his tracks as he sees her in front of him. 

“Why’d you leave?” She hisses, her blue eyes filled with fury. Who knew that such a cold color could hold so much fire. 

Chat laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t know you’d miss me so much, m’lady. I just thought that we would leave after the Akuma was defeated.”

“That’s not what I meant.” She spits. “Twelve years ago. Why’d you leave twelve years ago.”

Chat visibly pales in the moonlight. “How- how’d you know that?”

“The guardian told me. The man that gave you the miraculous that you  _ stole _ .” Ladybug breathes. 

Chat tilts his head. “There’s a  _ guardian  _ of the miraculous?”

“Yup. Maybe you’d know that if you were here.” Marinette hesitates for a second. “Actually, probably not. He’s not the most forthcoming with information.”

Chat sighs. “I didn’t steal the miraculous.”

“Right, because every time someone disappears after getting a super powered object, it’s for great reasons.”

“It was for- a reason.”

“Just tell me,” Marinette pleads. “Are you working for Hawkmoth. This one, or the previous one.”

“No!” Chat yells, much louder than Marinette was expecting. She obviously hit a nerve. “I would  _ never _ .”

“How am I supposed to know that? You pretty much disappear every time an Akuma is destroyed. You stay in the shadows.”

Chat swallows. “I- I didn’t think you’d want  _ my  _ help.” 

“Why? Because I’m doing so well?” Marinette asks sarcastically. 

“Well, yeah.  _ That _ .” Chat admits. “And, other reasons. The truth is, I wouldn’t have come at all. But when the first Akuma showed up, I wanted to get a good look. I thought Hawkmoth was locked up.”

“That makes two of us.” Ladybug huffs. 

Chat nods. “When you couldn’t break the object, I figured I could help. So I would always come to see if I could help. And almost every time, I could. I just thought it would be best if you never met me.”

“That doesn’t explain why you never helped earlier. I could’ve used a- a partner for all these years.”

Chat looks down at his feet. “The day I got my miraculous, I was being sent away to boarding school. I saw the box in my room, and just kind of stuffed it in my bag. It wasn’t until Stoneheart had been defeated, and I was in another  _ country  _ that I realized what I’d been given.”

“Leave it to Fu to pick the  _ one  _ kid that got out  _ before  _ Stoneheart.”

Chat raises an eyebrow at her. 

She just waves him away. “If you knew him, you wouldn’t be surprised either.”

Chat looks down at his hand, and Marinette notices a black ring on his finger. It must be his miraculous. “I- guess I can give you my miraculous if you  _ really  _ want. It’s just, Plagg has been the only person I could truly rely on for so long.”

Marinette feels a surge of sympathy in her chest. “I get that. I don’t know what I would’ve done without my Kwami, Tikki. You can keep your ring.”

“Thank you!” Chat breathes. 

“But,” Marinette continues. “If you’re going to be around, you have to help with the fight. Not just come out at the end to destroy the object. This is a team effort, and I need someone to be a part of my team. Do you think you can do that?”

Chat is silent for a second. Just as Marinette is about to give up hope, Chat nods. “Definitely. I’ll see you next time, bugaboo!”

“Don’t call me bugaboo!” She yells at his retreating form. 

“Nope. Time for negotiation is over, m’lady!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA! I feel like we're getting closer to the end. I'm kind of sad now.
> 
> UNTIL NEXT TIME <3<3<3


	27. You’ve Been Keeping Me Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!

“So, what’s going on with this war?” Sara asks Adrien, looking up at the screen. 

Adrien shakes his head. “That doesn’t matter.”

“It seems to be very important to the story.” Sara murmurs. 

Adrien nods. “Yeah, but it’s only really important in America. We just watch this for the music.”

“I can see why. Eliza’s voice is really pretty.” Sara says. 

“Just you wait until we get to Helpless. It’s pretty much after this one I think.”

“Why are you brainwashing my child with American history?” Marinette asks, walking towards the couch where the two ‘children’ sat. 

“Because this American history has catchy songs.” Adrien answers, watching as the Winter ball starts. 

Marinette looks at her daughter. “You agreed to watch this?”

“He told me that the king was Kristoff.”

Marinette gives Adrien a look. “What?” He exclaims. “He is!  _ Technically _ .”

Marinette shakes her head. “Well, Anyways. I just made cookies. Are you guys going to take a break?”

Sara is about to speak, before turning back to the TV. “Ooh! Is this the song you were telling me about?” She asks Adrien. 

“Yeah.” Adrien answers. “Come on, Marinette! Watch this with us! It’s one of the best songs. I think you’ll like it.”

Marinette sighs, finally taking a seat next to her daughter. “Fine! But one song! That’s it!”

*

“Now, why would he do that?” Marinette asks. 

“I don’t know, but it caused  _ this  _ masterpiece!” Adrien enthuses, gesturing at Eliza performing Burn on the tv screen.

Marinette places a hand over her heart. “Eliza is, like, my spirit animal. This was  _ literally _ me with my last ex boyfriend.Coincidentally, he was  _ also  _ named Alexander.”

Adrien hugs her by the shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I ended up with Sara, so I guess the relationship wasn’t the worst thing.”

Adrien and Marinette both look down at the sleeping child between them. They weren’t exactly sure when she fell asleep, but she was cuddled between them, and snoring softly. 

“I should probably put her to sleep.” Marinette murmurs, looking into Adrien’s eyes. 

He nods, not breaking eye contact. “Yeah. I’ll pause it for you?”

Marinette nods, scooping the child in her arms. “Thank you.” She mouths. 

Adrien smiles, watching her walk away. He stares at the paused screen, Phillip making his grand entrance. 

And exit. 

Oof, he was not prepared to cry in front of a pretty woman. Especially not Marinette. He really should’ve thought this through a little bit more. 

Marinette finally returns sitting next to the man. “She’s still sleeping. She doesn’t usually stay asleep when I put her to bed, so kinda dodged a bullet.” She giggles. 

Adrien laughs, leaning backwards. “Should we continue. Be forewarned, this next part is kind of a tearjerker.”

“Oof. I’m emotional. Should I get tissues?”

Adrien shrugs. “Only if you want.” He says, looking her straight in the eye. 

Marinette feels her breath catch in her throat. His gaze was almost intense in its sincereness. She wondered if he realized just how much his soft look was impacting her. 

Probably for the best. Nobody needed that kind of power over her. Only Sara could keep that strong hold over her heart, and she wouldn’t let anyone else grab on. 

Their eyes were still locked. Neither were moving. Neither were speaking. 

Instead, they were intent on searching and memorizing every color of the other’s irises. The only thing they could see in the reflections were themselves, but they couldn’t even clearly see that. 

Marinette felt like she was one side of a magnet, and Adrien was the other. 

She slowly leaned in, feeling like she was attracted to him— in more ways than one. 

Adrien moves closer as well, his breath lightly fanning her face. 

They were almost nose to nose, when the door to Marinette’s apartment opens. 

“Hey, Mari! I didn’t realize you’d be up so- agh!” Chloé yelps, staring at the two on the couch. 

Marinette and Adrien jump away from each other. Adrien lands on his feet, his face red, not looking at either of the women present. 

“I- I, um, should go. I have a big meeting tomorrow.” Adrien murmurs, heading towards the door. 

“Yeah.” Marinette sighs, her head in her hands. “Yeah. See you later?” It was a genuine question. 

Adrien chances one last glance at her, before nodding. “Yeah. Later.” And he leaves, both Mari and Chloe left alone in the former’s apartment. 

“What are you doing here, Chlo?” Marinette asks, clearing her throat. 

Chloe just blinks. “I finished the books. Thought I’d drop them off. I didn’t see anything!” She finishes, before tilting her head. “Wait, Adrien isn’t here, why am I lying? I KNEW IT!”

“Chloé.” Marinette sighs l, taking the binders from the blonde’s hands. 

“I. KNEW. IT!” Chloé giggles. “Alexa, play I Told You So by Little Mix!”

“That song doesn’t fit this context.”

“Little Mix fits everything.” Chloé laughs. “Gosh!”

Marinette rolls her eyes. “I don’t see why you’re so excited. You showed up before anything happened.”

“Yes. But, if I hadn’t showed up, something  _ would’ve  _ happened?” Marinette’s silence is answer enough. “Haha!”

“I‘ve only known him for, like, three months. We barely know each other.”

Chloe shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’ve seen you two together, and I think you’d be good for each other.”

Marinette shakes her head. “Yeah, well, dream on.”

That night, that is exactly what Marinette proceeded to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time ;) <3<3<3


	28. Are You Here To Distract Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s a little late, but here we are!
> 
> Enjoy!

Marinette looks around at the heroes surrounding her. Chloe, Alya, and Nino had all decided to come for this akuma. 

At least she had people that she really trusted with her today. 

“Where’s the baby?” Chloé asks them, looking around as if they were carrying him right then. 

“Alya’s mom took him. We couldn’t miss this.” Nino laughs, gesturing to the people running around, and the explosions going off every few minutes. 

Chloe raises an eyebrow. “You guys have a weird definition of a romantic evening.”

“Focus.” Marinette sighs, her eyes roaming across the rooftops.  _ Nothing _ . 

“Are we waiting for someone?” Alya asks, moving closer to her best friend. 

Marinette shakes her head. “No. Let’s get a move on.”

The heroes run towards the Akuma, getting ready for a good fight. 

The Akuma was about seven feet tall, and ripped with muscle. He looked down on them with beady, red eyes. He kind of reminded Marinette of a minotaur from Greek mythology. 

Marinette runs towards it, but is immediately swatted away by the behemoth. Chloe comes from above, and is thrown away. Alya and Nino come in opposite sides, but are nearly squashed like bugs. 

Which is ironic, since Chloe and Marinette are the only bug themed heroes around. 

Ladybug lays on the pavement, trying to catch her breath. He was strong  _ and  _ fast. That was never a good combination.

“Oof.  _ That _ was kind of embarrassing.” Chloé mutters, crawling closer to Mari. 

Marinette turns towards the Akuma, watching as he slowly moves closer to her. She balls her hands into fists, and slowly rises to her feet. 

Just as she was about to charge the beast, a shadow comes over them. A long, metal pole comes down on top of the akuma’s head. 

A tall, black clad figure lands beside her, and Marinette raises an eyebrow at him. “You’re late.”

Chat shrugs. “I had a thing. Don’t worry, though, m’lady. I would never forget about you.” He winks at her. 

“M’lady?” Chloé asks, looking between the two of them. 

Marinette blushes a little, turning away from her perceptive friend. She turns to the heavens, and calls out her lucky charm. 

A black polka dotted rope lands in her hands, and Marinette’s mind starts working a mile a minute. Her eyes suddenly light up, and she turns to Chat. 

“You can destroy  _ anything _ , right?”

Chat nods. “Pretty much, though I don’t like using it on people if I can help it.”

“Perfect.” Marinette breathes. “I have an idea.”

Chat smirks. “I had a feeling you might.”

Chloe just looks between the two with narrowed eyes. 

*

As the formerly akumatized looks around in confusion, Marinette turns to Chat. “We did it!” She laughs, holding her hand out for a high-five. 

Chat smiles, before holding out his fist. Marinette complies, and gently bumps it against his. “Pound it.” He laughs. 

“OMG! Yay! Introduce us, please?” Chloé mocks, tearing Marinette away from the cat guy. 

Marinette blinks a few times, before turning to her friends. She kind of looked like she forgot that anyone other than Chat was there. 

“Um, Rena, Carapace, Queenie, this is Chat.”

“Really? Just Chat? That’s original.” Chloé murmurs. Marinette elbows her in the side. 

“Chat Noir, but yeah.” Chat laughs. 

“It’s great to meet you.” Nino says, offering a hand, which Chat eagerly accepts. “You were pretty cool back there.”

“Thanks.” Chat murmurs. “I’ve never actually worked with a team before. It was fun.”

“Lone wolf?” Alya asks. 

“More by force than choice, but yeah.” He smiles. “I’m sorry. I’m kind of star struck. I used to buy your action figures.”

“Dork.” Marinette murmurs. 

Chat winks. “Only for you, m’lady.”

Chloe raises an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t get too attached if I were you. She has a boyfriend.”

_ If looks could kill _ . Marinette thinks as she glares at the blonde. 

Chat gasps in mock offense, a clawed hand going to his chest. “Bugaboo! I thought we had something special!”

Ladybug rolls her eyes. “I don’t know which of you I wanna punch more.”

Chloe’s mouth drops open. “What? I’ve been at the top of your punch list since pre-k, then this furry shows up, and I’m replaced? This is so unfair!”

Chat laughs. “Well, anyways, I have to go! See you next time!”

“Bye!” Mari calls. She then turns to the others. “What do you think?”

“He seems great.” Nino says. 

“I like him.” Alya answers. 

“Eh.” Chloé puts in. 

Marinette claps her hands together. “Great! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go home now!”

Marinette swings away, all of her friends watching her leave. 

“Did you  _ also _ feel super left out?” Chloé asks, leaning closer to Alya. 

“Yeah. How is that possible? He’s the noob, and  _ we  _ actually know her identity!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re getting closer to the end. That makes me sad.
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	29. I Make A Big Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back! I know it took longer, but I’ve been trying to get in a schedule with my updates. I’m thinking of posting every three or four days.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Okay. So, we need cheese. Ham. Bread…” Marinette murmurs, reading from her shopping list. 

Sara nods, walking by her mother’s side. “I know, Mommy. You’ve said.”

“I just need to remind myself.” Marinette murmurs, getting into the deli line. 

She was tapping her foot as the line moved at a snail’s pace. Sara was just standing there, her eyes wandering the boring aisles. 

Finally, the Dupain-Cheng’s are at the front of the line. Marinette makes a request for her preferred meats and cheeses, Sara staring glumly at the glass counter. 

She wished she didn’t have to go shopping with her mother. It was just such a dull activity. 

“Thank you.” Marinette says to the woman at the counter. She holds her meats and cheeses, and gently places it with the rest of her groceries in her shopping cart. 

They stroll down the aisles, Sara clinging to the end of the cart. She was letting out little skips, trying to keep her mind occupied with the endless amount of nothing for her to look at. 

They finally stop at the bakery. The last place they needed to go. 

Marinette preferred freshly made bread. The kind that her parents would make. The smells that would waft through the house. 

Bagged bread would never be the same. But it was quicker, and less expensive for Marinette to get a lot of it. 

She grabs about three bags of bread, and places them all in her shopping cart. 

Sara stands watch, eyes weaving between the many different shelves and aisles. Finally, she sees something that catches her attention, and her eyes widen. 

“Mommy!” She yelps. Marinette turns to face her daughter, but the little girl is already sprinting away from her. 

“Sara!” Marinette hisses, running after her daughter as fast as she could while pushing her shopping cart. 

Sara reaches a couple that were talking near the cash registers. The man was stiff, his hands tucked into his pockets. The woman was batting her eyelashes. 

The little girl grabs the man’s hand, and glares at the woman standing next to him. 

As Marinette draws closer, she recognizes both of the people. 

Sara was holding onto Adrien’s arm. And the woman that she was glaring at? One Lila Rossi. 

“Marinette!” Adrien says as he sees her. She notices his posture slump a little, and his green eyes are looking wildly between her and the Wicked Witch of the West herself. 

Marinette draws closer, unsure of what they were interrupting. “Hey…” she murmurs. 

“You got the rest of the stuff?” He asks, gesturing to her cart. Marinette just blinks in confusion. “I got the camembert you wanted…”

“Ugh…” she hums. 

Lila finally takes her eyes off of Adrien. The look that she threw Marinette could cut. 

“You two… know each other?” She asks. It was a seemingly innocent question, but Marinette could hear the warning undertones. 

“Yeah!” Adrien laughs, grabbing onto Sara’s hand. “We came together.” He said the word ‘together’ like it held way more weight than it’s meaning. “Babe, we wouldn’t want to be late, right?”

“Right…” Marinette says slowly. Sara rolls her eyes at her mother. 

“Goodbye, ma’am! We have to go home now!” She chirps. The kid could give Lila a run for her money with her passive aggressiveness. 

Sara drags Adrien and Marinette to the cash registers. “Bye, Lila. It was… running into you!” He calls over his shoulder. 

They reach the cashier. Marinette starts putting her groceries on the conveyer belt. 

“Thank you.” He whispers to her. 

“Why are you thanking her? I did all the work.” Sara huffs. 

Marinette shrugs. “It’s cool. Do you actually have groceries, or do you just come here for the great entertainment.” She gestures to her own groceries. 

Adrien chuckles, before placing a block of camembert cheese with Marinette’s things. “Thanks.” He mumbles. 

They split the price of the groceries, which Marinette had tried to stop him from seeing as she had way more than his piece of cheese. Adrien has brushed her off, joking that he pretty much owed her his life. 

She drove him back to her house, seeing as how Adrien had walked to the grocery store. Sara was elated to have them all together again after their Hamilton binge. 

Adrien and Marinette bring in the groceries while Sara runs into her room. 

“Are you going to tell me what was happening at the store?” Marinette asks, putting her meats and cheeses in the refrigerator. 

Adrien lets out a stream of air. “Wrong place, wrong time.”

“How do you know Lila?” Marinette asks, trying to keep her voice light. 

Adrien lets out a wry chuckle. “We… used to date.”

Marinette drops the bag of bread in her hands. She whirls around to face Adrien. “Wh- what? I- I didn’t think she was your type.”

“She isn’t.“ Adrien clarifies. “She was the girl that my father made me date. The one that actually got me to finally leave the brand.”

“No wonder.” Marinette snorts. 

“How do you know Lila?”

Marinette lightly taps her fingers on the counter. “We used to go to school together. She terrorized me for a few years before everyone stopped believing all of her lies.”

“Yeah, well I appreciate you getting me away from her. It was bad enough when she tried to get me to help her with her case.”

Just then, Sara comes running out of her bedroom. “I made this for you!” She yells, handing a piece of paper to the man. 

The paper was of two girls, one small and the other slightly bigger, and a quite tall man. Adrien laughs as he recognizes the banana looking hair on the man, and the midnight blue hair on the taller girl. 

“It’s beautiful.” He says, gently patting Sara’s hand. 

Marinette looks between Adrien and Sara, before clearing her throat. “Are you staying for dinner?”

They share a nice dinner, before Sara was too tuckered out to stay awake any longer. Marinette got her ready for bed, before tucking her child in for the night. 

Marinette walks into the living room, watching Adrien sitting on her couch. 

A sudden feeling of deja vu overtakes her. Her walking out of Sara’s room. Adrien sitting on the couch, waiting for her. 

She chuckles, partly out of nerves, partly out of anticipation. “You really made a lasting impression on her.”

She takes a seat next to him. Adrien smiles, though it seems a little sad. “The feeling is mutual. She’s a great kid.”

“She really likes you.” Marinette murmurs, gazing softly at him. She couldn’t help but hear Chloe’s voice in the back of her head. You’d be good for each other.

Adrien nods. “She was one of the first and pretty much only friends I made here. It’s gonna be really hard to say goodbye when I leave Paris.”

Marinette feels her heart drop to her stomach. “What?” She gasps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MWAHAHAHA ;]
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	30. Someone Out There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, y’all have read more than a hundred pages of this story 🥺
> 
> Enjoy!!!

Adrien rubs at his eyes. “I’m thinking of leaving Paris.”

“Wh- why?” Marinette stutters, her eyes focused on her knees.  _ Of course. Right when I think I found a good guy, he leaves.  _

Adrien sighs, slumping backwards. “I didn’t want to come back to Paris.” He admits. 

“You said that you wanted to help the company…” Marinette recalls. 

Adrien purses his lips together. “I did. But, my father- Gabriel- I didn’t want to take over anything that used to be his. I thought that maybe Eve would be able to do good on her own.”

Marinette stares at him, her mouth slightly agape. “Then, why would you come back?”

“I have a- a friend. We were roommates in school. We’ve been together for years. He was pretty much the only person I’ve had for years.” Adrien takes a shaky breath. “And when my father went to jail, he wanted to go to Paris.”

“So you followed him?” Marinette asks, raising an eyebrow. 

Adrien shakes his head. “He didn’t want to go without me. So, I went with him. Agreed to stay until the company was taken care of, and then we’d return.”

Marinette nods slightly. “And… the merging is going to be complete in a few weeks.”

Adrien nods. “And… I’m going to go back alone.”

Marinette raises her head. “You’re… leaving your friend?”

Adrien’s eyes tear up a little bit. He looks away. “He’s so much happier here. It would be selfish to make him come back with me.”

“Shouldn’t  _ he  _ get a say in that?” Marinette asks, her voice stronger than before. 

Adrien shakes his head. “He’s going to try to stay with me. Or get me to stay. And that isn’t good for… anyone.” He doesn’t sound totally convinced. 

Marinette was about to speak again, before Adrien stood up. 

“I should go.” He murmurs, wringing his hands together. 

“Are you sure?” Marinette breathes, standing up with him. 

Adrien nods. “Yeah. Thanks for dinner.”

Marinette watches as he exits the apartment. 

She feels a lump in her throat for reasons unknown. She barely knew him. It had been, what, 3 months? Marinette shouldn’t be feeling like a part of her was leaving. 

So, why did she go to bed feeling like a part of her was missing? And he hadn’t even left yet. 

*

Marinette and Sara stop in front of the school building. It was their usual morning routine. Get ready for the day. Eat breakfast. Then walk Sara to school.

It was a routine that Marinette held close to her heart. Some days, it was the only thing that moved her to get out of bed.

“Here we are.” Marinette murmurs, glancing at the building. Her grip on Sara’s hand didn’t lessen.

Sara chuckles. “Mommy, I’m going to be late.”

Like I said, all part of the routine.

Marinette crouches down to Sara’s level, and pulls her into a big hug. “I love you, bug.”

“I love you too, Momma.”

Marinette finally pulls away, looking Sara straight in the eyes. “Okay, I’ll pick you up after school. Have a great day, sweetheart.”

“I will!” Sara promises, and with that, she races to the open doors of the school. 

Marinette sighs, placing a hand over her heart, before turning away from the building. She had things to do. It wouldn’t be good for  _ anyone  _ if she watched over her daughter’s school building all day.

Marinette strolls along, her hands in her pockets due to the increasingly colder weather. Winter was coming.

As she keeps walking, the street suddenly goes dark.

Marinette looks around, wondering how a perfectly sunny day could suddenly get so dark. And that’s when she sees it.

A huge flood of butterflies was blocking out the sun. They filled the sky, not allowing an inch of blue to come between their pearly wings.

Marinette had seen something like this before. She still sometimes got nightmares from the memory of a face being made out of thousands of butterflies.

“Hello, Paris!” A voice booms. It felt like it was rattling around Mari’s head. She had no idea where it was coming from, but her head was still swivelling around anyway. 

The voice continues. “My name is Monarch!”

Marinette’s breath hitches. Her eyes finally land on the Eiffel Tower. A small figure was standing on the top.

“I have taken things over from Hawkmoth. I would say I’ve done a pretty good job.”

Marinette ducks behind an alley, and calls on her transformation. 

She swings around, coming to the tower a lot faster than she could’ve on feet. Even with her enhanced speed as Ladybug.

Her eyes settle on the hem of a purple overcoat. That was the most she could see from the angle she was at. Mari starts climbing upwards, trying to be as stealthy as possible. No need for Monarch to find her before she was ready.

“So, I guess, all hail, Monarch!”

Marinette finally sneaks a glimpse at their back. 

Long brown hair fell down their back, and black boots peaked out from under their over coat.

She tiptoes forward, before Monarch whirls around on her.

Green eyes peaked out from behind a purple mask, and a delicate smirk rested on their lips. “Ladybug!” She giggles. “I’m so glad that you could make it! This is going to be fun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some stuff happened 😳
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	31. A Little Bit Like Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I'm late, but this chapter took a little bit longer to write. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Marinette keeps the distance between her and Monarch, swinging her yoyo in a wide arc. 

“Ooh!” Monarch gushes, putting a hand to her heart. “What a pretty parlor trick!”

Marinette huffs. “Just wait until I show you what I can really do with this thing.”

“Is that a threat?” Monarch asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes.” Marinette says, feeling her annoyance peak. The villain was getting under her skin in a way that she hadn’t thought possible for a stranger to do.

“Well, I have a few tricks of my own.” Monarch murmurs, and she snaps her fingers.

Marinette’s legs start to shake. They were taking most of the brunt of the force as the building they were standing on was rumbling. 

“What the-”

Monarch giggles. “You didn’t think that I would actually go face to face with  _ Ladybug _ all by my lonesome, did you?”

Marinette gapes as Monarch’s secret weapon finally rears its ugly head. And I mean that both literally and figuratively.

It was a behemoth of a thing, about four times wider than Marinette, and twice as long as it was tall. It had a bulbous head, with no eyes, a whole in the middle of its face that might be a nostril, and big, claw-like teeth.

Speaking of claws, it had those two. They were sharp like daggers, and it had them on each of its six hands. Three arms on each side of its body. 

If Marinette had never seen monsters before (which she had, again, both literally and figuratively, seen) this was what she would imagine.

“Ladybug, meet Cornelius.” Monarch chirps, motioning at her monster.

Marinette just gapes at the thing. Was that a person? It must be. Deep down at least. What kind of human being could actually turn someone else into that thing?

Marinette just lets out a little breath, trying to keep her composure. “Projecting are we?”

Monarch’s lips tighten for a second, before going back into her normal smile. “You know us butterfly users, we can’t get enough pain and suffering.”

The monster- ‘Cornelius’- takes another step, and the entire Eiffel Tower creaks with the weight of it.

Marinette takes another step back. 

“Oh! Is the great Ladybug actually frightened of something?” Monarch coos, a devilish gleam in her eyes. 

Marinette gulps, her eyes still on the space where the monster’s should be. “What? Me? No.” She says, her voice pitched quite high. Not even Cornelius seemed to believe her.

Monarch smirks. “My, my. I do wish I had a camera. Just to remember this moment. When I  _ finally _ got my revenge!”

Marinette turned her face to Monarch. “Revenge? Revenge for what?”

The villain rolls her eyes. “Don’t play innocent. I know who you really are!” Marinette feels her heart drop to her stomach. “A fraud!” Normal heart palpitations. “And now the rest of Paris will see it too!” 

“Monarch, we can work through this!” She tries, allowing her yoyo to fall to her side. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry!”

Monarch tilts her head, pursing her lips. “No.  _ I’m  _ sorry. But you’re about a decade late on the whole apology train. Cornelius? Finish her.”

Marinette takes another step back, as Cornelius stomps towards her.

“Not on my watch!” A voice yells, and Marinette watches as a long metal rod hits the creature on the top of it’s head.

It barely seems to phase Cornelius, though he does take a step back. 

The perpetrator of the attack lands beside Marinette, and she stares with wide eyes at Chat Noir. “Just in time.” She murmurs. 

“Sorry I was late, there was some business I had to attend to.” He says, and he sounds kind of breathless.

“I’m just glad you’re here.” Marinette says, giving him a small smile.

Monarch pouts. “Look, I’m sorry, but we were kind of in the middle of something. Maybe you can come back in ten to twenty business days?” 

“I don’t think so. I’m not the most patient person in the world.” Chat says, shrugging. 

Marinette rolls her eyes. She steadies her shoulders, and moves into a defensive position. “Give it up, Monarch!”

“No, I don’t think so.” Monarch giggles, bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

Marinette continued talking with courage that she wasn’t certain she actually had. “Do you really think that your one monster is a match for  _ both  _ of us?”

“ _ One _ ?” Both Chat and Monarch repeat. 

“M’lady, I think you need to get out more.” Chat whispers in an undertone. 

Marinette looks behind her, and feels her heart stop. At the base of the tower were fields and fields of monsters that looked just like Cornelius.

“See, a spurned graphic artist caught my attention earlier today.” Monarch giggles. “I, honestly, don’t see why he was rejected. His imagination is quite fertile.”

“Cornelius wasn’t the one you akumatized.” Marinette realizes.

Monarch shakes her head. “No, he’s just one of the many bi-products of his akumatization.” She lets out a wicked laugh, clutching at her belly. “Face it Ladybug you and- I’m sorry, who are you?” She asks Chat.

Chat’s mouth drops open. “Really?”

“You have just shown up.” Ladybug reminds him.

Chat’s ears droop. “I’m Chat Noir! Black Cat! The bringer of destruction! I knew I should’ve gotten a pr team.”

Monarch just blinks at him. “Whatever. Ladybug, you and your sidekick-”

“Chat Noir!” He repeats. 

“It’s  _ so _ unoriginal.” 

Chat huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “Excuse me?” He points at Marinette. “Her name is literally just Ladybug!”

“Chat…” Marinette murmurs, her hand hitting her head. 

“And what about you? What kind of name is  _ Cornelius _ anyways?”

“Are you really doing this?” Ladybug pleads.

“I will not be dishonored this way, bugaboo!” 

Monarch hums. “Sure. Cornelius? Get them!”

Both Ladybug and Chat jump away at the same time. 

“This is gonna be next to impossible.” Ladybug murmurs, staring at the waves upon waves of monsters.

Chat grins. “Already ahead of you, M’lady.” 

“What do you mean?”

From down below, she sees an aura of yellow overtake one monster, him going completely still. 

A giant of unfathomable magnitudes makes its way towards the crowds, making several of the monsters flee. It seemed to frighten them, which is strange for monsters that have no eyes. 

A green shield forms around another group, and Marinette watches as Carapace and Queen Bee venom several of the monsters at once. 

“Wha-” Marinette asks, glancing at Chat.

“Rena showed me how to use the phone a little bit ago, gave me her number. I put in a call, and she put in several more.”

“Is this what you were doing?” She asks, raising an eyebrow.

Chat shrugs. “I’m part of a team aren’t I?”

Marinette bites her lip, before reaching a hand out, and rubbing Chat right in between his ears. “Good, kitty!” 

Chat bows his head, “Anything for M’lady. Now, you should probably find the akuma.”

“What about you?” 

“I’ll be on my way if you need me, but I should definitely help out around here. Don’t worry. I’ll only be a yelp away.”

*

Marinette drops on a rooftop. 

She saw the dark figure ahead of her. The only person that would still be out in the mass destruction that was taking over the city.

“Hello!” She calls out, swinging her yoyo.

The man turned around. His face was ghastly white, and he wore a black suit and top hat. The grin across his face just added to the unease that she felt around him. 

“Ah, Ladybug!” He exclaims. “I am-”

“You know, can we actually skip the introductions today? I just went through a whole thing with Monarch, and I’m  _ tired _ .”

The man huffs. “That is inexcusable! You shall not disrespect the Artiste!”

“What did I just say?” Marinette grumbles, swinging her yoyo at him.

He lifts a black walking stick, and her yoyo clangs against it. “You think that you can beat me that easily?”

“I was kind of hoping.” Marinette admits. 

“Naive.” The Artiste, or whatever, chuckles. He snaps his fingers (and, seriously, what was with people doing that today?) and two of his grotesque monsters drop onto the building.  _ Where  _ they came from, Marinette has no idea. 

Still, she finds herself backing away from them.

One left her terrified. With two, she was finding it kind of difficult to keep her legs steady. 

“Ah, so you recognize my creatures!” He laughs. The creatures take another step forward. Marinette contemplates trying to go after the Artiste again, but he walks straight off the ledge.

She runs closer, her arms out, but stills as the head of yet another monster rears up. “Don’t let me keep you from your bonding with my pets! Tata!” He calls, the creature bringing him down.

Marinette realizes her mistake at running forward. She had brought herself incredibly close to the monsters.

It was strange that the closer she got to them, the scarier they looked. Their teeth were bigger. Their nails were sharper. Their faces were even more eyeless. 

Marinette considered her options as one of them took a step closer. 

She decided it was best if she could just find Artiste again. Maybe she should call Chat to come with her next time too.

Turning around, Marinette attempts a mad dash.

However, one of the creatures grabs at her ponytail, and whirls her around. 

Marinette was in the middle of cursing herself for not getting that haircut sooner, when she felt the monster plunge it’s dagger-like claws into her sternum.

She gasps, clutching at the leathery arm of the creature.

A warm feeling erupted in her stomach. Was it warm? Or was it so cold, that she could only hang on to the heat around the feeling.

The Creature stares at her for a second, before it starts waving its arm.

It’s claws sunk further, then pulled out, then sunk in again. 

Marinette didn’t quite understand, feeling blood drip down her stomach to her lip feet.

She realizes, somewhere in her hazy mind, that the thing was trying to get her off of it. How ironic. She wanted to be off of it as well.

She feels her feet hit the edge of the building. The monster uses the leverage to finally peel her off of his arm. 

The last strength that she was using to hold onto its arm gives out. In a sort of slow motion, she falls backwards.

The wind rolls through her cursed hair, and her eyes start to close. 

In the distance she hears a scream, the pounding of footsteps, and lastly, she sees a blur of black falling with her. 

_ With, or for? _ Does it matter?

The last thing she hears before she slips into utter blackness was the call of, “M’lady!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA! please don't hate me. 
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	32. Knows Deep Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I know I left you at a cliffhanger last chapter, so I got this one out asap ;)
> 
> If you don't read my other story, I want you to know that I started school yesterday. So, hopefully I can continue with updates like these more. 
> 
> Now, I won't hold you up too long!
> 
> ENJOY!!!

Marinette springs upward with a gasp.

She feels a warm hand on her back. She shivers like someone had just walked over her grave.

“It’s okay, Mari. Lay back.” A soft voice says, and Marinette allows herself to lay back down like the voice had suggested. 

She looks up, and sees Alya’s face looking down at her. A pinched, teary, relieved version of Alya’s face at least.

“What happened?” She croaks, rolling her head until it was facing Alya’s belly.

Alya takes in a sharp breath, and Marinette looks back at her best friend. “Alya? What’s wrong? Why-” She hesitates, taking in their surroundings. The endless Parisian skyline, and the almost damp concrete beneath her. “Why are we on a roof?”

“It was- It was the best we could do on short notice.”

“Do for what?” Marinette questions, starting to sit up again. Alya immediately rests a hand on her shoulder blade.

“To-” Alya hesitates. “To hide your body.”

Marinette blinks as if Alya was speaking another language entirely. “My- what?” She looks down at her jean clad legs. “Why aren’t I transformed?” Her hand goes to her ear, and she pauses when she only feels flesh. “Alya, where’s my earrings?” 

Alya takes in another deep breath, and wipes at her misty eyes. “We- You- Chat-”

“Breath, Alya.” Marinette instructs, gripping the woman’s shoulders. “Talk slowly.”

Alya nods, breathing slowly. “Right… right. We were fighting off the monsters, when Chat sent an SOS. He said to meet on some rooftop, and that he needed us right then. No matter what.

“When we got their- here- you were on the ground, and he was covered with your-” Alya shudders, “Your blood.”

Marinette stares past Alya’s shoulders, the full details springing to mind. How the monster had yanked on her hair. How his nails had plunged deep into her gut. How she had fallen off of a building-

“He caught me. He caught me when I was falling off of that building.” Marinette remembers.

Alya shrugs, moving her hand to interlace with Marinette’s. “I guess. He didn’t give much detail. Probably for the best, if I’m being honest. Most of us couldn’t look at you too long.”

Marinette stares down at her stomach. The stomach that had previously had a huge gash through it. “Wait, then why aren’t I… dead?”

Alya nods, continuing with her story. “Right. Well, you  _ were _ . We couldn’t get a heartbeat. And… you had lost so much blood, Mari. We didn’t know what to do. Luka considered going back a few minutes, but he wasn’t anywhere close to where you had been. Alix wanted to go back in time to save you, even though that would’ve broken all of her rules…

“But… Chat had an idea. He said that if you were still alive, you would’ve used your miraculous Ladybug. How he gathered that after such a short time is _ beyond  _ me, but…” She sighs. The story seemed to be taking so much out of her. She had _ just _ lived through the nightmare, afterall. 

“He said that if someone took your miraculous, that they could undo it.  _ All  _ of it. None of us were completely sure, but we thought we could give it a shot, and if it didn’t work-”

“Always have time travel.” Marinette murmurs, her free hand going back to her bare ears.

Alya nods.

“So, who took my miraculous?” 

Alya worries at her lip. “Chat did.”

“What?” Marinette snaps, trying to get to her feet. Alya stops her. 

“Mari-”

“You let him see my identity?”

“Well-”

“Not only that, but if he had both miraculous-”

“I know!” Alya cuts her off, placating the woman. “We all know. We told him as much.”

“And?” Marinette prompts. 

“He offered a trade.” Alya mutters, bringing Marinette’s hand that she was holding up. Marinette noticed, though how she hadn’t before was a mystery, a rose gold ring on her finger. “He detransformed in an alley. His kwami brought his ring up, while Tikki brought your earrings down.”

“I have a name!” A squeaky voice huffs, and Marinette jumps to see a small, black, cat-like creature standing not far from her. Again, how was she missing so many things. Marinette usually looked at herself as a very detail-oriented person.

Alya nods. “Right. Marinette, Plagg. Plagg, Marinette.”

“Yeah, hi.” Plagg says, looking quite offended at not having been introduced before.

“So, where’s my miraculous?” Marinette asks. “Where’s the others?”

“The ladybugs just came in. Like, they healed you, and then you popped up. I guess it worked.”

As if on cue, she hears the sound of people landing on the rooftop. 

“Marinette!” Chloe yells, running straight into her. She wasn’t alone. Just the fastest.

Basically, all of Marinette’s friends crowd around her. It was suffocating, and loud, and way too teary. And exactly what Marinette needed after the wonderful depictions of her demise.

“Finally!” The grumpy voice of Plagg interrupts. “I was getting hungry.”

Alya pulls away, glaring at the little creature. “When aren’t you?”

Plagg huffs. “You don’t know me.”

“But she’s right!” Another squeaky voice says. An incredibly _ familiar  _ squeaky voice. Marinette gets out of her friend pile, and runs to Tikki.

“Tikki!” She cries, grabbing her in her arms. 

“Marinette!” Tikki says, and she thinks she feels a droplet of water from where she was holding Tikki to her chest. “You’re better.”

Marinette nods. “Yeah. I’m better.”

“Well,” Plagg interrupts, grabbing at the ring on Marinette’s finger. “I’d hate to interrupt this love fest, but I have dinner, and a chosen waiting for me, so-”

“Plagg!” Marinette calls out, and he turns around. Marinette grabs her earrings from Tikki, and latches them onto her ears. “Can you ask Chat if we can talk? I’ll meet him in the alley.”

“Sure thing, ponytail.” He salutes, floating down.

“Is he always like that?” Marinette asks her kwami. 

Tikki just shrugs. “Plagg is a lot, but he’s really a softie deep down.”

Marinette gently rubs the top of Tikki’s head. “Sorry I scared you.”

“You’re alive. That’s all that matters.” Tikki promises, turning away to hide the tears forming in her eyes. 

“Do you mind one final transformation for the day?”

“Marinette!” Chloe pouts. “We just got you back!”

“I know, but I have to say one final thank you. And then you guys can watch over me until the day I  _ actually  _ die.”

“And we’re gonna do just that.” Kagami promises.

Marinette nods, and calls on her transformation. She swings down to the ground below, and looks around. “Chat?”

A head of blonde hair peeks out from a dumpster, and she is delighted to see the black ears along with it.

“Chat!” She exclaims, walking closer to him.

Chat just stares at her, and gulps. 

“I heard what you did. Thank you. I wouldn’t be here without you.” Again, he says nothing. “Really? You’re going silent on me? No, ‘why you’re very welcome, m’lady’? No cat pun? No, ‘you should’ve seen me in that ladybug suit. The spots were very slimming’? C’mon, chat-”

Chat wraps his arms around her, his face pressing into her shoulder. “I thought- I thought you weren’t coming back.” He murmurs.

Marinette hesitates, before wrapping her arms around him as well. “I’m right here, chaton. I’m not going anywhere.”

*

After her friends had  _ actually  _ made a chart for who got to watch over her, Marinette was eating in the kitchen with the first two on her list, and Sara.

The little girl was picking at her meal. Like mother like daughter, as Marinette didn’t seem particularly interested in eating either.

Kagami and Luka were looking between them, obviously trying to start some kind of conversation. 

“I’m not very hungry.” Sara murmurs, staring down at her plate.

“Are you okay? Kagami questions. “How was your day at school?”

  
Sara hesitates. “We had to do a shelter in place. The monsters kept trying to get through. My teacher put on the news, so we could see what was happening. It was scary.”

“Yeah, all those monsters were definitely scary.” Kagami murmurs. “At least you weren’t hurt.”

Marinette winces. Luka notices. 

“Um, bug! Why don’t I help you get ready for bed?”

Sara looks between her parents, before nodding. “Yeah. That would be cool.”

Luka leads Sara into the bathroom, and Kagami leads Marinette to the living room. 

“Mari? Are you okay?” Kagami asks, placing a hand on her forehead. “You aren’t… feeling any side effects are you?”

Marinette shakes her head. “No. The Ladybugs are pretty thorough. I wouldn’t even have known it happened if… well, if I hadn’t lived through it. I was just thinking.”

“That can be just as dangerous.” Kagami murmurs. “You went through a lot today. Nobody expects you to be perfect right after… well, dying.”

“I don’t think that’s the problem. I mean, it was scary, and definitely going to catch up with me eventually.” Marinette amends. “But, I just can’t help thinking… if I had died, and  _ stayed  _ dead too… Sara would never know.”

“What?” Kagami asks, straightening up.

“Would she ever know what happened? Only that I got cut in a monster fight. Because it’s not like you’re gonna share my identity once I’m gone. And, I’d never get to see her again. She would never  _ know  _ what happened!”

She falls silent. The bathroom door opens up, and Sara, wrapped in a towel, runs off to her room.

“She wanted to get rid of me.” Luka mutters, taking a seat next to the women. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Luka-” Marinette hesitates, rubbing her fingers together. “I’ve been thinking this through… and I want to tell Sara the truth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEHE!!!
> 
> So, first off, if you couldn't tell, the monsters from last chapter were totally stolen from Avengers: Infinity War. 
> 
> We're getting closer and closer to the end :| idk how to feel about this...
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	33. I'm Not Where I'm Meant To Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK! 
> 
> I actually had this in my drafts for a few days, but I needed to finish my htgetsbi update first!
> 
> Enjoy!

“Are you really sure about this, Mari?” Alya asks, gently rocking Tony in her arms. 

Marinette nods, glancing at Sara’s open door. “Yeah. I think it’s for the best.”

Chloe nods. “Well whatever you think is for the best. Are you planning on doing it today?” 

Marinette rubs her damp palms on her leggings. “Yeah. I think if I drag it out… I might not even get the chance to ever tell her.”

“Not if I have anything to do with it!” Alya vows, patting the baby’s back.

Chloe chuckles. “I guess tonight is going to be an even bigger night than I first thought.”

Mari nods. “Yeah- wait! Why did you think it was going to be big before?”

Chloe bites her lip, and digs around in her pocket. She glances around to make sure that no one was watching them. 

“Chloe…” Alya asks, leaning forward. Marinette follows her best friend’s example.

Chloe brings her hand back out, and shows them what was resting in her palm. A small, black, velvet box. A  _ ring  _ box.

“Chloe!” Both women gasp. 

The blonde giggles, nervously opening the box, and showing them a dazzling ring inside. It was a golden band, with a large diamond resting in the middle. Two smaller diamonds were on either side.

“Yes, yes! A million times, yes!” Marinette giggles, tears springing towards her eyes.

Chloe rolls her eyes, playfully batting her friend away. “Shut up. Do you think Sabrina’s going to like it?”

“Chlo, let’s just put it this way. If I wasn’t already married, I’d definitely say yes to that ring.” Alya giggles, winking at Chloe.

Chloe blushes, putting the ring back in her pocket.

“Are you alright?” Marinette asks, placing her hand on Chloe’s knee.

Chloe giggles. It sounded kind of nervous and had an edge of panic. “I’m just  _ so  _ nervous. What if she says no?”

“Chloe, she loves you. She’s going to say yes.” Marinette says seriously, looking Chloe dead in the eyes.

Chloe nods, looking as if she was trying to convince herself of Marinette’s words. “Do you have any advice?”

“Anything is better than my proposal.” Marinette murmurs, leaning backwards. “At least you have a real ring.”

Alya rolls her eyes. “Luka’s proposal was cute. And so was the toy ring that he bought.” Alya turns to Chloe. “Look, Sabrina loves  _ you _ , not us! Whatever you think is the best is probably what’s right. You know her better than anyone Chloe, don’t doubt yourself.”

Chloe nods. “Yeah. Yeah!” She says, her voice stronger now. “I got this.”

Marinette sniffles, putting her hand over her mouth. She leans closer to Alya. “They grow up so fast!” She squeals.

“I know! It feels like just yesterday she was putting gum on our bench.” Alya says, placing her free hand over her heart.

“Shut up!” Chloe hisses.

*

“Bug!” Marinette calls. She was sitting at the kitchen table, her breathing growing increasingly more rapid. “Can you come in here for a moment?”

Sara, in all of her pyjama-clad glory, skips into the kitchen. “Yes, Mommy?” She asks, her eyes wide. 

It was almost bedtime, and if Marinette was asking for her to be anywhere but her room, she knew it was serious.

“Can you have a seat?” Mari asks, gesturing to the chair across from her.

Sara looks at the chair, and slowly moves towards it. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, why would you say that?” Marinette asks, her head snapping up.

“Because your face is red.” 

Marinette laughed, but it wasn’t full of humor. “No… I’m just a little nervous.” 

“Nervous for what?” Sara asks, reaching for her mother’s hands. 

“I have to tell you something?” Marinette says. “It’s not exactly bad… it’s just… news.”

Sara perks up. “Are you and Adrien together?”

“What? No!” Marinette says, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Oh.” Sara murmurs, all interest leaving her eyes. She slumps again, and stares at the table where her and her mom’s hands were tangled together.

Marinette sighs. “I- I need you to keep an open mind, and know that I love you, baby.”

“Okay…”

“I… I’m… I’m Ladybug!” 

Sara stares at her mom, and blinks a few times. “Okay…” She says, nodding her head. When Marinette remains silent, Sara asks, “Is that it?”

“Is that- yeah, that’s it-”

“Okay, can I go to bed now?” Sara asks, moving to stand up.

Marinette puts her hands out. “Wait! You aren’t… surprised?”

“Why would I be surprised?”

Marinette’s mouth drops open, and she gapes. “Be-be-because I just told you that I, your mother, am Ladybug.”

Sara purses her lips, and leans in. “Mommy… I knew.”

“You-” Marinette stares at Sara. “You  _ knew _ ?” 

Sara nods. “Yeah.”

“How?”

“It wasn’t that hard.” Sara answers, finally sitting back down.

Marinette laughs, more out of surprise than anything else. “Oh really?”

“Yeah. I mean, you once cut your hair, and then Ladybug had the same haircut. And the time that Ladybug was replaced was the time that you were pregnant with me.” Sara lists. “Plus, your hair is  _ blue _ , Mommy.”

Marinette just blinks at her daughter. “Literally no one else in Paris has put that together.”

Sara shrugs. “Oh well.” 

The two girls just sit at the table in silence. Marinette’s mind was rushing around, and Sara was staring at her mother, waiting for her to say something.

“If we’re being honest… can I tell you something?” Sara asks, breaking the tenseness.

“Yeah.” Marinette breathes.

“I know about Tikki too.”

“Wha- how?”

Sara gives a toothy smile. “We have the same snacking time. She sometimes gets me a mug and adds hot water so I can make hot chocolate.”

“Tikki!” Marinette yelps.

The red kwami jumps out, smiling apologetically. “Sorry…”

“I expressly said no hot chocolate after bed time! For  _ either of you _ !”

Tikki’s mouth drops open. “Would you rather have her stand on the counter by herself, or burn herself with the hot water? I don’t think so!”

Marinette just stares at both of her little ones as they fist bump.

  
She said the most elegant thing that she could think of. “ _ What...??? _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm starting to get kind of emotional, because I just realized that next chapter is the BEGINNING OF THE END!!! It's really happening, and I'm getting sad ToT.
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	34. Everyday's A Little Harder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than the other chapters, but I want to see you guys suffer a little more ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

Chloe was laughing hysterically.

“It’s not that funny!” Marinette hisses, pouring the woman some more champagne.

Chloe shakes her head. “You’re right! It’s even funnier than even  _ I  _ can express! I mean, who would’ve guessed that  _ Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s  _ kid had brains!”

Marinette just glares at one of her best friends. “I’m smart.”

Alya puts a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “No, sweetie. Not really.”

Marinette’s jaw twitches. “You know what, you guys don’t get anymore of my champagne! Only Sabrina does!”

“Yes! Haha, suckers!” Sabrina laughs, grabbing the flute. The new diamond on her finger glitters in the dining room light.

Chloe rolls her eyes at the redhead, before turning to Marinette. “Okay, but think about it this way… that was, like, the easiest reveal in history!”

“Yeah.” Alya mutters. “Can’t believe a four year old reacted better than I did.”

Chloe snorts. “ _ Anyone  _ would act better than you did.”

Alya turns to Mari. “Remind me again why you invited her into your house?”

Marinette just laughs, shaking her head as Alya and Chloe continue to argue some more. 

She hears the sound of Sara’s door opening, and turns her head to see Luka standing in the doorway. “Okay, we’re all packed up!” 

Marinette pouts. “Are you sure?”

“We’ve literally fit as much in this bag as humanly possible.” Luka murmurs, hefting up a blue, white polka dotted bag. 

Sara comes in from behind her dad. “I  _ wanted  _ to bring another bag.” She sighs. “But apparently, Daddy can’t carry that much.”

Luka strains under the weight of the one bag. “Yup. My fault.”

Marinette stands up from her chair. “Come here, sweetie.” She says to Sara, opening her arms.

The little girl moves forward, only to be immediately swept into her mother’s arms. She gasps for air, as the woman seems to be squeezing it all out of her. “Mommy…” She gasps. “I can’t… breath!”

Marinette doesn’t lessen her hold. “I just… I can’t believe my baby is leaving me!” 

Sara pushes away, catching her breath. She narrows her eyes at Marinette. “Mommy, I’m just leaving for the weekend. It’s not like I’m never coming back.”

Marinette sniffles. “A  _ whole  _ weekend!”

Luka, still gasping from the effort of holding Sara’s bag, turns to Marinette. “Well, we should really get going before you decide Sara can’t go with me… or I crack my back.”

“Can I walk down with you?” She asks, rising to her feet. 

Sara groans, obviously still reeling from being nearly hugged to death. Luka nods. “Sure.”

“Do you guys mind?” Marinette asks the women at her table.

“Go!” They all giggle, taking more sips of champagne. They were already tipsy, and the other girls hadn’t even showed up yet. 

Luka takes a step forward, breathing heavily with the weight over his shoulder. 

“Here, let me help you.” Marinette says, grabbing the handle from him.

“No! It’s okay! It’s really heavy, I don’t want you to hurt yourself!” Luka says, nearly falling with his next step. 

Marinette glares at him, and Sara shakes her head at her father. The older woman takes the bag from Luka, and easily wraps it around her shoulder. She doesn’t even look a little strained. 

“Let’s go!” She says, striding to the door.

Sara raises an eyebrow at her perplexed father. “You should’ve known better, daddy. Mommy can do anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, next chapter is big ;)
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	35. I Feel My Power Grow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so you guys should know that this chapter, the chapter before, and the next two chapters were all supposed to be one chapter, before I started writing it, and was like, "I could cause so much more pain if I spread it out". So, you should know.
> 
> Enjoy

The knocking at the door echoes throughout the too quiet apartment. Marinette shuffles forward, wiping her damp palms against her black pants.

She knew this was coming, and yet she was still so unprepared for guests. 

Or, more specifically, one guest in particular. The only person she invited.

She opens the door, and there he is. In all of his too tall, green eyed, blonde haired glory. 

“Adrien!” She exclaims, tucking some hair behind her ear. 

He tilts his head, eyebrows furrowing. “Are you okay? You look a little… weary.”

“Is that your nice way of telling me I look tired?” Marinette giggles, gesturing him into her apartment. 

Adrien’s cheeks flush. “Sorry.”

Marinette shakes her head. “It’s okay. I already knew. And, yeah, I’m fine.”

“So… why are you so tired?” 

“It’s a little embarrassing,” She admits, forcing him into a seat. “I stayed up all night in case Sara tried to call me.”

“Where is she?” Adrien asks, leaning forward. Marinette feels her cheeks heat up at their suddenly close proximity.

“She went with her dad for the weekend. It’s not the  _ first _ time… but this is the longest she’s been away from me. Most of the time, she just goes to my parent’s for a night.”

Adrien places a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.” He murmurs. “But, if it’s any consolation, I think that it’s great that she has a good relationship with her dad.”

“Yeah…” Marinette nods. “Yeah! I know! And I’m so glad that he’s in her life. I guess that I’m just so used to her being right next to me.”

“Well, I hope I can take your mind off of it.” Adrien chuckles, leaning backwards. “Why did you want me here again?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “Right! Almost forgot! Thank you for reminding me!”

“You’re… welcome?” It was more of a question than a statement, Adrien’s eyebrows raising. “So… why?”

“Why what?” 

“Why did you want me here?” He asks, letting out soft giggles. 

Marinette nods, her eyes closing. “Right! Okay. How attached to England are you? Like, what’s keeping you there?”

Adrien sighs, his lips pursing together. “Mari-”

“Just answer the question.” She pleads, making her eyes go big. 

Adrien nods. “Okay. Well… other than the fact that no one there looks at me like I’m the son of one of their worst terrorists… nothing!” 

“Great!” Marinette claps. “Well… not the whole, people-looking-at-you thing, but the fact that you’re not attached to England!” 

“Why's that?” Adrien asks, resting his head on a fist. 

Marinette takes a deep breath. “Okay, so I basically grew up around this area. Not too far from my parent’s house is the high school I used to go to as a kid.”

Adrien nods slowly. “All right…”

“Anyways, the principal that was working there when I went there recently left his job.”

“Retired?”

“Got a job on a new superhero tv show called ‘The Owl’.” She corrects. “Don’t ask.” She adds when she sees Adrien’s eyebrows furrow.

“What does this have to do with me?”

“I’m getting there!” Marinette yells, playfully swatting at him. “Okay, so the new principal just happens to be my old chemistry and physics teacher.”

Adrien’s shoulders sink. “Marinette-”

“They’re still trying to replace her! The sub isn’t doing so well, and they need someone qualified as soon as possible-”

“I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, but-”

“Shh!” Marinette hisses, putting her hand over his mouth. “Let me talk!” She pleads, and he nods, his eyes staring down at her hand touching his lips. “It’s not like it’s a sure thing, it’s just an interview. And it would be a trial run first, so if you don’t like it you can always go back to…” She shudders, “ _ London. _ ”

“This is too much.” Adrien says, once she finally removes her hand. “I can’t just take this.”

“It’s just an interview! Just… I don’t want you to leave when you have so many…” She stares into his eyes. “ _ Opportunities  _ here.” The word ‘opportunities’ was loaded with meaning.

Adrien stares at her, and swallows. “Okay.” 

Marinette bites her lip. “Well, you don’t have to go if you don’t  _ want  _ to. You just always talked about how you wanted to teach, and-”

“Marinette!” He yells, laughing. “You got me to agree, don’t argue with yourself!”

She nods. “Right. Right.” Marinette reaches under her coffee table, and shows him a manilla folder. “I managed to show you everything you need to know about the school. Just read over it.”

“You managed to do this, while also being a single mother and the CEO of a fashion brand?” Adrien asks, staring at the many pages she had stapled together. 

_ And being one of Paris’ superheroes, _ she adds subconsciously. “I’ve had a long time to learn time management skills.”

“You must really like me.” He teases, waving the folder around.

“No, you’ve been around so much that my kid is just used to you being around.”

Adrien shakes his head at her, a small smile playing on his lips. And then he freezes, his eyebrows furrowing together.

“What’s wrong?” Marinette asks, immediately leaning closer to him. Her chin was almost resting on his shoulder with their proximity.

“You went to  Françoise Dupont.” He says, staring at the name. He lifts his head to look at her, and his breath fans her face. “I guess that makes sense, since you and Chloe met in school.”

Marinette nods dumbly, still kind of distracted by how close they were. “Yeah… why do you know the school that Chloe went to?”

Adrien chuckles, and Marinette moves her head away, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to process anything if she could still smell the cologne that emanated from him. 

“It’s… well… It's sort of the reason why my dad sent me to London in the first place.”

Marinette furrows her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

He bites his lip. “When I was fourteen, I snuck out.” Marinette playfully gasps. “I know, I know, but I wanted to see an  _ actual _ school. Chloe even got me on the class roster.”

_ That sounds like something Chloe would do _ .

“Anyways, I ran all the way to the school. And I probably would’ve made it too, but-”

“You got caught?” Marinette guesses. 

Adrien nods, before his face scrunches up. “Well, kind of.”

Marinette tilts her head. “What does that mean?”

“See, I remember it so clearly, it’s like it happened yesterday. I was  _ so  _ close.” He mutters, staring down at his lap. “I had gotten to the school, ran up the steps. I was  _ almost  _ in the door. My dad’s assistant, Nathalie, and my bodyguard wouldn’t have been able to catch me before I got to the classroom. And then I saw him.

“There was an old man on the sidewalk, and he was reaching for his cane.” Adrien says, his eyes going glassy. “And I… I  _ had  _ to help him up. But, by the time he was up and standing, Nathalie had caught up to me.”

Marinette blinks a few times, the story sounding too familiar. “What day was it? Maybe I heard your name on the roster.”

Adrien smiles. “Our paths sort of crossing all those years ago.” He laughs, and Marinette nods. “Um… it was…” His face goes blank. “Right. You know what day it was?”

Marinette nods for him to continue, the anticipation _ killing  _ her.

“It was the day Stoneheart first appeared.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My other story, htgetsbi, is ending tomorrow. I made your updates every other day, so after Thursday these should be faster, if I can write more chapters before then. If you haven't, maybe check out htgetsbi, because it's almost finished and I'm sad. Legitimately cried writing the ending.
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	36. Don't You Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!!!

It was like everything had stopped for that small second. Marinette felt all of the air rush out of her lungs for reasons she couldn’t quite explain, and gasps for oxygen before she surely passed out.

“Wh-what?” She stammers, moving a little farther away.

Memories rush through her mind, of being evacuated early. Of staring at the tv screen in horror. Of opening that box and being damned to the knowledge of superpowers.

Adrien blushes, looking away. She wasn’t sure if he was flustered or ashamed. “Yeah. I remember getting off the train and seeing the news reports of some stone monster on a rampage.”

“Right.” Marinette murmurs. “Well, that makes sense, I guess. You ran away, your dad sent you away so that you wouldn’t get hurt by any of the akumas.”

Adrien snorts. “More like so I wouldn’t ruin his ‘master plan’.” The air quotes help Marinette breath better.

“Wow…” Marinette murmurs. “So you left…” Her mind blanks. “On the day that Stoneheart appeared.” 

The day that Hawkmoth made his move. The day that Marinette was forced into the role of hero… The day that she got her miraculous. 

_ I was fourteen _ , the words echo around, reminding her of words she’d uttered. She had been just fourteen, how could she do any of that all by herself.

She’d needed a partner…

_ The day I got my miraculous, I was sent away to boarding school.  _ Stoneheart day. What was the coincidence? 

_ I didn’t think you’d want  _ my  _ help _ . And that was correct. If she’d  _ known  _ that Chat had been the son of her sworn enemy, she probably wouldn’t have accepted his aid.

And that old man. The one that had dropped his cane?

Memories of oncoming traffic, a box of macaroons, an old geyser that was taking his sweet time. 

The same day. Practically the same time. 

_ Adrien is going to be sitting in that seat _ . 

“Marinette?” Adrien asks, and she jumps as she realizes that she isn’t alone. She isn’t having the revelation in a quiet place away from all distraction. She is sitting next to a handsome man. A handsome man that very well may dress up in a black leather catsuit and help save Paris.

She glances down at his right hand, and there it is. A simple silver band that no one would take a second look at. 

_ Plagg has been the only person I could truly rely on for so long. _

_ He was pretty much the only person I’ve had for years. _

Too much was making sense.

“Marinette?” Adrien asks again, placing a hand on her shoulder. His right hand. She could almost feel the cool metal of his ring through her shirt. 

“Yeah!” She says, her voice squeaky. She clears her throat. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry. It’s just… memories.”

Adrien nods sadly. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I shouldn't've just talked about Sto- you know.”

Marinette shakes her head. “No! No! It’s fine. It’s been years, and there’s been… way worse since him…” It still didn’t stop the nightmares from coming. Hundreds of stone monsters roaming Paris because she hadn’t done her job right- “I’m fine.”

Adrien nods, though he doesn’t seem to believe her. Perceptive. “Okay… well, I should go. Call this principal and everything.”

She nods again. She had been doing a lot of that today, she was starting to feel dizzy.

“Thanks for having me.”

“Thanks for coming.” She says, her words tasting dull. 

When the door closes, Marinette slumps in her seat.

_ Unbelievable.  _

“Marinette?” The always beloved voice of her kwami sounds. Tikki had always had a calming effect on Marinette, but this revelation felt too heavy for even Tikki to lift up. “Are you okay?”

“Tell me I’m wrong.” Marinette says, her mind going fast. Why did she want to be wrong? 

Because then Adrien would be in constant danger? 

Because then she’d have to admit that Fu actually did a pretty good job of partnering her up? 

Because this burden was too heavy on her chest, and she had a feeling if she knew him- all of him- that he would be able to alleviate it in a way no one else had come close too?

Tikki gives her a sympathetic look. “I don’t think I can do that, Mari.”

Marinette groans. “I mean, come on, Tikki! Not even Fu is dumb enough to let Gabriel Agreste’s son keep one of the most powerful magic artifacts in the world!” 

Tikki gives her a look that clearly says ‘I think we can both know that he is dumb enough’. There was no arguing with her there.

Marinette’s head goes into her palms. “This is a mess!” She exclaims.

“Why?” Tikki asks, narrowing her eyes. “Because for the first time, someone is actually close to you, and it’s not just your daughter?”

Marinette’s eyes widen, and she stares at Tikki. “Oh my gosh! Tikki… does Sara know?”

“Oh yeah.” Tikki says, patting Marinette’s head.

“Why is my four year old smarter than me?”

Tikki shrugs. “Luck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Mari finally used her brain cell. I'm so proud of her.
> 
> I was not going to post another chapter today, but it happens to be one of my favorite people's birthday today :) 
> 
> Happy birthday, Angela!
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	37. Part of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first off trigger warning: mentions of blood. Nothing too graphic, but some people don't like it at all. 
> 
> This chapter, and the three before it were all supposed to be one chapter, and seeing as how I split it into four I'm kind of glad I didn't go that route.
> 
> Enjoy!

The dripping of rain echoes throughout the musty cells of La Sante prison. It mingles with the howls of inmates that would rather be anywhere else but their dark cell.

One particular cell holds a special inmate. A prisoner that even the other prisoners treat like garbage. Most of them were his victims. Others had lost a loved one to that man. They all came back, but it was never quite the same.

Gabriel Agreste sits against the damp concrete floor of his cell. That’s all it was. Damp concrete. They had some  _ basic  _ necessities, a cot and a toilet. But the concrete was definitely the main attraction.

He scratches at the floor. The stone cutting his raw and bloodied fingertips. That was all he did, scratched at the ground until his nails were so short they were practically gone. Dried blood caked his hands, and the floor around him.

The guards didn’t care. He was only causing himself pain. It wasn’t like that really made anyone else’s life bad.

He spent his days with his back to the wall, his fingers aching, and soft words coming off of his tongue. 

“Ladybug…” The select guards that would have to bring him food heard. “All her fault… Ladybug.”

And then he would grab his food. Play with the goop in a bowl, stare in disgust, before taking a few sips of iron colored water. Then he would get to the real prize. A cruel joke that the guards loved to play on him.

Always at the bottom of his food tray was a newspaper article. No matter what day it was, what the main story was, who had been corrupt this time, there was always a picture of Ladybug. 

“ _ Ladybug _ …” The word sprang through the air like venom.

It was  _ all  _ Ladybug’s fault.

His wife: dead.

His son: a traitor.

His assistant: a snitch.

_ Ladybug _ .

Gabriel couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. 

He sounded like one of the many people that he had akumatized over the years. Blaming their life problems on a single entity, and allowing their anger or fear to take control.

It was a phenomenon that he had prayed on in the good old days, and now he was going through it himself.

Yet again, Ladybug’s fault!

He wasn’t as insane as everyone seemed to think. Gabriel actually thinks that he had managed to keep his wits about him, given the circumstances.

If anything, he was becoming greater. More cunning. More angry. More dangerous.

He gazes down at the scrap of paper in his hands, a black and white picture of that insufferable hero. She still looked very much like she did as a teenager, blue eyes filled with righteousness, black polka dotted red spandex, and the mask covering up her identity to the world.

Her hair was no longer in pigtails though, her posture more confident, her face more weary.

She may have been on top of the world, but she was starting to slow down. Gabriel? Gabriel was climbing, and one of these days, he’d knock her off of her pedestal.

It was then that he hears it. A familiar sound, one that he has heard innumerable times, and had become so accustomed to that his ears prick up as it reaches him. 

The sound of a butterfly flapping its wings. 

It lands on the newspaper, still clutched in it’s hand. The butterfly looks up, almost as if it was waiting for something.

Gabriel laughs. “I was wondering when you would visit.”

He watches as the butterfly soaks into the paper in his hands, coloring it in a rich shade of dark purple. 

“Sorry, I’ve been a bit busy!” The lovely chortle of his favorite protegee fills his head. The girl was like the child he’d never been blessed with. “Terrorizing Paris is a hard day's work!” 

“One that you have taken with pride.” He murmurs. Monarch, as she had liked to be called, had been an excellent student. She had been just a child when she sought him out, pride bruised from an encounter with Ladybug that had cost her everything. An anger simmering under the surface that was just waiting to be released.

He had molded that fury, harnessed it into a force to be reckoned with. And when he was defeated, she knew where he left his miraculous. She knew where to find it. She knew what to do with it.

“What do I owe the pleasure?”

Monarch giggles. “Oh, I think you know.”

He smiles, looking down. “I have taught you well.”

She laughs once more, before her voice takes a more serious tone. Even though he couldn’t see her, he can tell that a smirk is pulling the corner of her lips. 

“Blood-erfly. I give you the power to take revenge on your enemies. But, in return, you must destroy Ladybug,” She pauses, and then continues, “Ooh! And get her new sidekick too! Black Kitten I think he called himself.” 

Yes, he heard of the new hero. The one that wields the black cat miraculous. The one that didn’t show up until  _ after _ his defeat. It was just as much his fault for Gabriel’s life going to hell.

“And what about their miraculous?” He asks, his voice soft.

“Take them. I don’t care.” Monarch says, her voice light, bellied by a razor sharp viciousness. “Just get rid of them.” 

Gabriel smiles, the first real, genuine smile that he had worn since being locked up. He spoke the words that he has heard for the past decade, knowing that he would finally get his chance to show them  _ all  _ how it was done. “Yes, Monarch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... there's a lot to unpack here.
> 
> Next chapter is definitely going to be triggering, I'll get more into that tomorrow, but I'm just warning you.
> 
> Also, this is, like, the beginning of the end. The violent ending I asked you guys about ToT.
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	38. Longs To Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha. Okay, so this chapter could be pretty triggering. It was actually pretty difficult for me to write. 
> 
> Trigger warnings for death, sickness, abuse, and Gabriel Agreste. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The gentle beeping of a heart monitor fills the room. Nathalie’s heart monitor to be more specific. 

Her health was simultaneously slowly declining and being better than ever. 

It had been who knows how long since she’d erupted into one of her coughing fits. They said she was getting better. It was a real miracle. 

But it hadn’t stopped her from fainting earlier that evening, one of her famous dizzy spells taking over after the first time she was allowed to walk alone in who knows how long. It hadn’t stopped her from being moved to a real hospital. 

A real hospital with a cop on guard all the time. 

Sometimes it felt like they were only curing her to then send her to another hell. One full of criminals and poor living conditions that would kill her faster than the peacock miraculous ever did. 

It was quiet in her room, the nurses finally allowing her some peace and quiet. The heart monitor was still beeping, but it offered more solace than annoyance. 

It was actually quite relieving to hear her heart still beating strong after all of these years. 

All of these years that she had wasted chasing a mirage that didn’t truly exist. Except for in her memories. 

Gorille has come by earlier, him and the child. She was growing up. Nathalie remembered when Simone was an infant that the huge man had been carrying in the palm of one of his giants hands. 

He could probably still hold the girl up with one hand, but it wouldn’t be the same. 

A soft smile forms on Nathalie’s lips. Memories flooded her, reminding her of simpler times. Times before she was a villain, before Adrien was grown, before  _ she  _ had died, and  _ he  _ had become something unrecognizable. 

“Oh…” A bone chillingly familiar voice echoes throughout the room, and Nathalie was sure she heard her heart skip a beat. “I’m glad that you’re feeling so well.”

The world was blurry without her glasses, and the room was dark. It didn’t stop her from finding his silhouette though. The dark protrusion of the dark wall. 

She didn’t want it to be him. Knew that it  _ couldn’t.  _ He was in prison. But it was him. The pit in her gut told her enough just from hearing that haunting voice. 

“Gabriel?” She asks, her voice hoarse. She wasn’t sure if it was from misuse or fear. Probably a mix of both. 

“Nathalie.” He speaks again, and she sees his shadow come closer. Her skin crawls at the thought of them having a close proximity. 

She thought this was over. She thought she’d left it all behind at his trial. Left all of the memories. All of the bruises. 

“Long time no see.” He gives her an open mouthed smile, and she sees his teeth gleam in the lowlight. 

“What do you want?” She asks, her voice much more steady than she currently felt. “How are you here?”

Gabriel tsks. “Surely you aren’t asking such a  _ foolish  _ question, Nathalie?”

Her head falls back, and shuts her eyes tightly. “Of course. L-“

“My protégée.” Gabriel cuts off, voice hard. Right. She was never allowed to talk to ‘his protégée’ like an equal. Nathalie was always inferior to her. 

“What do you want?” She asks again, tiredly. She was exhausted, and her head was feeling worse the closer to her he got. 

“Oh come now. Is that anyway to speak to your  _ partner _ ?” He spoke the word with contempt. He always had. 

“You lost the right to call me that.” She spit. 

She remembered. She would never forget. Running to tell him who she discovered Ladybug was. Telling “Monarch” to quiet down so that she could share her discovery. His anger. 

She remembers how his eyes flashed, how his voice raised. How his hand had raised… 

She’d ran that day. Ran to Marinette. Ran as far away from him as she could get. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. 

Gabriel hums, totally not listening to her. What else was new? He grabs something from her nightstand and holds it out to her. 

“Wear these.” He orders. They must have been her glasses. 

She shakes her head. “No.”

Gabriel grabs her by the chin and shoves the eyewear onto her face. “I want you to wear these. I want you to see me.”

She huffs as he finally lets go of her. Her eyes were screwed together tight. She really didn’t want to open them. 

As her eyes flutter shut, she gets her first real look at him since the trial. 

Her hands fly to her mouth as she gasps. 

“Hideous isn’t it?” He growls. “This is what you made me.”

“No.” Nathalie says. Her voice was shaky, but her statement was resolute. “That is what you made yourself.” She gestures to his blood stained hands. “It’s just showing who you are on the inside.”

“You betrayed me!” He yells. 

“You betrayed yourself.” She says simply. “You said that you were doing this for your family. You said that you  _ cared.  _ But the moment you put that broach on, you became someone else entirely, and I regret that I didn’t see that beforehand.”

Gabriel glares at her, his eyes ever the same. “You know… you always had a problem with learning when to speak and not to speak.”

Nathalie barks out a laugh. “Are  _ you  _ threatening me? You’ve never gotten your own hands dirty, Gabriel. What makes this time so different?”

Gabriel places a hand to her face, and she shudders was he strokes her cheek. “My dearest Nathalie.  _ Now,  _ I  _ truly  _ don’t have nothing to lose.”

He moves so swiftly she almost missed it. Gabriel grabbed the pillow beneath her head, and pressed it onto her face. 

Nathalie screams, the sound muffled by the pillow. She couldn’t breath. She brings her hands up, clawing at his arms.

The heart monitor speeds up, moving in time with her fear. 

Gabriel secures his old, looking down at her wife eyes, and feeing the scrapes of her nails. Then, she goes limp. 

The heart monitor flat lines. 

He smiles down at her, gently touching the frames of her glasses. “I’m sure you didn’t see that coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m, if you couldn’t finish, Nathalie dies. Sorry. I know this was a difficult chapter, it probably will get worse as we continue. 
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	39. Are You Out There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More descriptions of death and violence and blood.
> 
> I hope no one got triggered by the last chapter, I know how terrible it is to read something and realize that you can't continue reading it.
> 
> Enjoy!

Marinette lays in bed, pulling the blankets tighter around her body. Tikki was snoozing softly on her chest. She’d needed the extra comfort that night. 

She really didn’t want to feel so alone while her head was in such a jumbled up place. 

She keeps turning on either of her sides, but it wasn’t making her feel anymore comfortable. She just felt cold. And confused. And exhausted, why couldn’t she sleep?!?

“Marinette?” Tikki murmurs sleepily. “You alright?’

Honestly, she wasn’t. She felt like a pile of anvils had simultaneously lifted and dropped onto her chest. Why was this so confusing? 

“Yeah…” She murmurs. 

“You’ve always been a terrible liar.” Tikki murmurs, digging her head further into the skin of Marinette’s chest.

Marinette groans, turning onto her back and staring at the ceiling. 

She really hated when her mind just wouldn’t shut off. When she had to be alone with no company but her thoughts. 

She hadn’t appreciated it then, but when she thinks back, maybe Master Fu had given her a blessing with her miraculous. At least she had had a lot less free time to worry about the smaller things going on in her life.

That's when her phone rings.

Marinette immediately bolts up, grabbing her phone. Tikki grumbles, but she understands. It could be Sara on the other end. Marinette always needed to be ready. 

She stares at her screen, and furrows her eyebrows. She doesn’t recognize the number. 

It was more than likely a wrong number or, at this time of night, a prank call. Still, Marinette found herself touching the green answer button.

At least if it was a wrong number she could stop them from calling her again.

“Hi!” She says, speaking fast. “I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong numb-”

“Hello?” A crisp voice on the other end of the call says. “Is this Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

Marinette’s lips purse. This voice didn’t sound recognizable in the slightest to her, even with her still muddled brain. “Yes…?” She says slowly.

“This is Nurse Halliwell at Sycamore Hospital.”

Marinette straightens. “What? Who’s in the hospital?”

“Madame Sancoeur?” 

Marinette slowly deflates. “Oh, right. Why are you calling me? Does she want to speak?” That would be a first.

“No, um…” The nurse actually sounded nervous, as if she was scared to voice her next words. “Ma’am… there has been… an  _ incident _ …”

Marinette’s blood ran cold.

*

She got to the hospital in record time, probably because she disobeyed many traffic laws, but still. She was there. 

She wasn’t sure why she had been affected so much when the nurse called, but before she could even be told what ‘the incident’ was, she was already pulling on her shoes and racing to the hospital.

Her and Nathalie weren’t close by any means, but it wasn’t like she wanted to see her suffer. She had, afterall, gotten Gabriel into prison. That was a debt that Marinette would never be able to repay.

She rushes to the desk, and sees Nurse Halliwell in the flesh. She was a younger woman, that looked genuinely scared that  _ she  _ had to be the one to call in the incident.

“Nathalie Sanceour.” Marinette asks the girl in a rush. Halliwell practically jumps out of her skin, but points down the hallway with a shaky finger. She didn’t even ask Marinette to sign in.

Marinette runs down the hallway, finding the room. A cop was standing outside the doorway, on his phone. His face looked distressed, and his grip on his phone was iron tight.

She walked straight past him. The room smelled like a hospital. Tons of chemicals masking the stench of sickness and decay. 

The walls were a pale yellow, and purple flowers were placed on her bedside table next to a pink card. A nurse, the one that had showed Marinette to Nathalie’s room all those months ago, was staring at the bed, her face torn between sadness and revulsion. Marinette understood why.

While the room looked mostly untouched, the bed was a horror scene of its own. 

Nathalie lay on her bed, her eyes wide open. Her glasses were placed on the tip of her nose, so orderly as if she had just rearranged them herself. 

Her skin was nearly blue, and a white pillow clung to her chest. Her mouth was wide open as if she was trying to get one last scream out, her eyes staring into the face of a terror long gone.

The nurse turned to her, her eyes finally moving away from Nathalie’s body. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I got called here for a reason.” Marinette murmurs, staring at Nathalie. “What happened?”

Jo shook her head. “She told me that she wanted to get some rest. I left the room. When I came in to check in on her… she was… she was gone.”

“Who had access to this room?” Marinette asks. 

Jo shrugs. “As far as the gentleman outside says, no one entered or exited them room since I did. We think she may have… been overcome with guilt…”

Marinette stares at the nurse in shock. “You’re saying she did this herself?”

“What else is there to believe?” Jo asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Mari shrugs. “I don’t know, it’s not like we live in a country that is terrorized by a supervillain that gives people superpowers with a  _ butterfly _ .”

At that moment, more footsteps enter the room. Marinette turns around to see someone she wouldn’t have expected.

The big man that she had sat next to at the trial was standing in the doorway, a solemn expression on his face. His eyes were focused on Nathalie.

“Mr. Gorille!” Jo said. “You’re here!” He gave a single nod.

Jo looked around, her face paling again when she took notice of Nathalie again. “I… have to do… paperwork. Don’t touch the body.” She instructs, glaring at Marinette like she might do something shameful.

Marinette just returned the glare, and watches the nurse exit the room. Gorille stays at his spot at the door. 

“Hi.” She says to him. “I saw you at the trial.” 

He nods. 

“Were you two close?” She asks, her voice growing softer.

Gorille nods again. 

Marinette nods as well, turning her attention back to Nathalie. Her fists clench as she stares at Nathalie’s wide eyes again. It was sickening.

She takes a tentative step closer, looking at Gorille to see if he had any qualms. He didn’t.

Marinette walks to Nathalie bedside, and gently places her hand on her eyelids. They were ice cold. 

She slowly closes her eyes, making her look far more peaceful than she had with her eyes stil unblinking.

“I’m so sorry, Nathalie.” She whispers, closing her eyes. “I feel responsible, in a way. What happened?” She asks, as if Nathalie would actually answer her question.

Turning her head to the side, Marinette stares at where the pillow was covering Nathalie’s chest. It smelled… familiar…

Marinette looks over her shoulder, and then at the pillow. If she moved it, was that like moving around evidence? Would she get in trouble?

She bites her lip, and turns to Gorille. “Hey… could you do me a favor and close the door?”

She was certain the man would tell her no. That was too much to ask. But he looks from one side to another, and gives her a definite nod, before stepping forward and closing the door behind him.

He was a good dude.

Marinette takes the top of the pillow, and lifts it. That’s when she finally realizes what the familiar smell was. 

The underside of the pillow was wet with blood, the liquid slowly seeping through to the other side. 

Nathalie’s chest had been slashed at, coloring her skin red. She saw Gorille take a step back against the door.

“Oh my, gosh.” She whispers. If she thought Nathalie had looked sickening before… but that wasn’t the point. “She didn’t do this. Look around… do you see a knife anywhere near her body. What would be the point anyway, if she asphyxiated?” 

Gorille doesn’t answer. 

Marinette looks around, maybe she could find a weapon or something. That’s when it catches her eye.

She sees the heart monitor, sees the wall behind it… 

“Oh, god.” She whispers.

Her phone rings. Marinette answers, slowly taking a step forward.

“Mari!” Alya breathes, and she sounded as nervous and nauseous as Marinette felt. “There’s been a development!”

“Yeah… where I am too.” Marinette murmurs, fear making her chest quiver. “Wait! Where are you?”

“La Sante prison.” Alya murmurs, and Marinette’s heart drops to the pit of her stomach. “You won’t believe what happened!”

“Gabriel Agreste escaped?” She asks.

“Yeah… how’d you know?”

Marinette stares at the symbol on the wall. A symbol made of blood. A symbol that made her own blood run cold. A butterfly.

“Because I’m pretty sure he’s been akumatized… and he’s already taken a life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff is happening ;)
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	40. Do You Know Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ofc more blood. I swear, I’m not as depressing as I seem 😭
> 
> Enjoy!

When Jo came back, she screamed. 

“Did you do that?!?” She yelps, pointing at Nathalie’s chest, and looking accusatory at Marinette.

The brunette rolled her eyes. “Of course not! I moved her pillow-”

“You moved her pillow!?!” Jo screeches.

Marinette puts her hand over Jo’s mouth. “Shut up!” She hisses, and the nurse glares at her. However, when Marinette removes her hand, Jo doesn’t try to speak again.

“Now…” Marinette sighs. “What are you going to do with the body?”

Jo shrugs, not looking at Nathalie. “Bring it to the mortician, I guess.”

“You can’t do that.” Marinette says. 

“Excuse me?” Jo asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Marinette sighs, feeling the stress building behind her forehead. “Look, I can’t really explain right now. But right now, you have to leave Nathalie where she is. Or… at least keep her away from the mortician.”

“Why?” 

“Because, I think I know who did this to her, and how he did it.” Marinette says, and watches Jo’s eyes widen. “And, if I’m right… she won’t be dead for long.”

“What’s  _ that _ supposed to-”

“Look!” Marinette yells, her patience waning. Jo shuts her mouth again. “There is a very good possibility that she will not stay dead for long, and in that case just keep her away from the morgue! Think about it, sharp tools, easily freaked out doctors, Nathalie sits up… next thing you know, she’s dead for good and it’s all your fault!”

Jo stares at Marinette, her mouth agape. Her eyes flick towards Gorille, almost as if she was seeking confirmation that she had really just heard what Marinette had said. 

The man nods. 

Jo closes her eyes. “Fine! I’ll keep her here.”

Marinette gave a tightlipped smile. “That’s all I’m asking.” She says, and walks away from the woman.

“Can you watch over her?” She asks, leaning close to Gorille. “Just make sure nothing happens?”

Gorille raises an eyebrow at her, before a soft smile forms on his lips. He nods. 

Marinette gently pats his shoulder, before heading out the door. The cop is still on his phone. 

*

Thirty minutes later, they’re all there. Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Chloe. 

They sit in her living room, all nerves and jitters. 

“He escaped.” Chloe grits through her teeth. It was a statement, not a question.

“Should we call the others?” Nino asks. “At least Luka-”

“No.” Marinette says, shaking her head. “He needs to stay with Sara, who knows what Gabriel knows.” 

“Why Nathalie?” Alya whispers. “She used to be his friend. Why would he do that to her?”

Marinette scoffs. “I doubt Gabriel Agreste ever looked at anyone like a friend. Better to detach, than create bonds.”

“But why?” Alya asks again.

Marinette lets out a deep breath. “I think that he wanted to make sure she didn’t talk again. Didn’t let anymore information out.”

“You think she knew who Monarch is?” Chloe asks, her head moving up. 

Marinette shrugs. “Well, she definitely wasn’t telling me everything that she knew.”

Chloe growls, and slams her hands on the coffee table. “This sucks!” She yells.

“Chloe…” Nino says, gently rubbing a hand on her shoulder. 

“No! This sucks!” She repeats. “We finally got rid of him! We finally put him behind bars, and now he’s God knows where, and  _ akumatized _ !” 

Alya wraps an arm around Chloe’s shoulder, and the blonde’s head rest in the crook of Alya’s neck.

“I know.” Marinette whispers, her voice hoarse. “It seems impossible. We have a dangerous man with an akuma on a killing spree. But we can’t give up hope.”

“Easier said than done.” Nino murmurs.

Marinette groans, getting to her feet. “Guys! Get a grip!” She yells, and everyone stares at her with wide eyes. “Do you know why I chose you guys?”

“Because we’re just dumb enough to go along with all of this?” Chloe asks, digging her face further into Alya’s neck.

“Because I can depend on all of you no matter what!” She breathes, her voice growing stronger. “You guys were and still are my closest friends, and I wouldn’t have given you your miraculous if I didn’t believe in you!

“Who did I bring along to defeat Gabriel Agreste in the first place?” She asks, and they all look at each other. “Who were the first people I ever gave miraculous to? You guys are great.  _ We  _ are great together! Because we’re a team! So let’s get out there, and solve that deranged butterfly man once and for all!” 

“Wow…” Nino says softly, gently clapping. “Great speech. I’d put it in your top five.”

Marinette gives a mock bow. “Thank you, I try.” 

Chloe nods. “You’re right. We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, and move off of our asses!” She exclaims, getting to her feet.

“That… is a less elegant wording of what I just said.” Marinette murmurs, but feels grateful for the support all the same.

Alya pulls out her phone, and stares at it. “Well... good thing that we’re all empowered now, because there’s been a new body. And it sounds a lot like Nathalie’s room.”

Marinette nods, gently clapping her hands together. “Alright! Let’s transform!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys realize how many chapter are actually left 🥺
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	41. Can You Feel Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More mentions of death and blood. Don’t you just hate Gabriel 😔
> 
> ENJOY!

Ladybug lands at the crime scene ten minutes later. 

Marinette puts her yoyo back in its holster, and stares at the flashing lights of the cops. It was giving her a headache.

“Ladybug!” A familiar man yells, and she turns to see captain Roger. 

He had made his way up in recent years, though she still rolls her eyes at all of the small crimes that he had gone after in his beat days. All of the akumas that he had caused (namely Mr. Pigeon). 

“Captain Raincomprix!” She greets, walking towards him. “You look well.” She mutters, her eyes moving to the building in front of her.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, obviously not feeling small talk. 

Marinette sighs. “We need to get into that crime scene.”

“We?” Roger asks, and that’s when Chloe and Alya land on either side of her.

“We believe that your murder victim might have been killed by a new akumatized victim.” She explains, already walking towards the house. 

“I haven’t heard anything.” Roger says, trying to catch up to her. 

Marinette rolls her eyes. “But we have, and that’s why we have to see your victim.”

“You’re superheroes, not cops.” 

“And thank God for that.” Chloe murmurs to herself, and Marinette snorts. 

“We just wanna see anything that you might have missed. You know, without knowing who or  _ what  _ you are dealing with.”

She walks through the doors, Chloe and Alya on her heels. Roger jogs to catch up with the women. 

The room was even worse than Marinette had imagined.

Unlike Nathalie’s crime scene, the murderer had not tried to cover up his crime. 

On the floor was the murder victim, his face chalky, and eyes red. His entire chest and torso was carved up, and his knees were bent upwards.

“Oh, gosh.” Chloe mutters, her hand going to her mouth.

“What? Can’t stomach this?” Roger asks. Chloe flushes. The man was her soon to be father in law, after all. Even if he didn’t know it.

Marinette’s eyes wander to the far wall. A large butterfly was painted in the man’s blood. Just like with Nathalie.

“It’s him.” She whispers to the girls. Then she turns to Roger. “You can’t move or touch anything.”

“Excuse me?” The Captain asks.

“Look, this man was killed by an akuma, and so when the ladybugs come around, it would be much easier if it’s all as it was.”

Roger scoffs. “Try telling that to his wife who has to stare at the monstrosity that is her husband’s corpse.”

“I’m sure she would be much happier to have her husband be alive again, than for a few hours of not being in her parlor.” Alya murmurs.

“This is a high level case. This man is one of us.”

“A cop?” Chloe asks.

“A DA.” 

Something in Marinette’s mind registers at his words. “A… DA…”

She turns to the corpse, and her eyes finally see past the blood and gore. “Oh my, gosh.” 

“What?” Alya asks.

“This was the attorney that prosecuted Gabriel.” She murmurs. “This isn’t random.”

“Wait… Agreste? That’s your akuma?” Roger asks, leaning closer to them.

Marinette looks him dead in the eye. “I will get your murderer, and stop all of this. Just… please. Make sure nothing happens to this man when he finally comes back to life.” She pleads.

Roger nods. “Okay…” 

Marinette turns to Chloe and Alya. “We have somewhere else we need to go.” 

“Marinette…” Alya says, rushing after her best friend. “What do you mean this isn’t random?”

“He’s going after everyone that had something to do with his conviction.” She explains, her voice hurried. “Nathalie, she gave him up. The lawyer, he prosecuted him…”

“Then… who else would he go after? The judge? The jury?” Chloe asks.

“Maybe… but… I know someone he’s definitely going to go after.” She grabs her yoyo.

“Where?” Alya questions.

Marinette turns to face them. “His son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... lot happening...
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	42. Can You Show Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe 😜 
> 
> ENJOY!!!

They stand on a fire escape outside Adrien’s apartment. 

“Do you really think he would go after his own son?” Alya asks, her voice sad and laced with disgust.

Marinette considered everything Adrien had told her about his dad. Gabriel could’ve definitely blamed Adrien for everything that had happened to him.

He was a sick man.

“Only one way to know for sure.” She murmurs, gently opening up the window. It opened up into a kitchen, all of the lights turned off.

“Adrien sure knows how to keep an atmosphere, doesn’t he.” Chloe shudders, moving her flashlight around to see all of the dark spots.

Marinette hums, her eyes settling on the fridge. A picture was pinned on it with a magnet. A familiar picture of a black cat with a bunch of bananas on its head. 

“Ladybug?” Chloe asks, raising an eyebrow. “You okay?” 

Marinette nods her head, moving away from the appliance. “Yup. Just… looking around, I guess.”

They move into the living room, their lights dancing around the new place.

That’s when Marinette takes notice of a black figure in the corner.

“A- Chat Noir?” Mari breathes, moving towards the figure. 

Alya and Nino come in, immediately rushing to Chat’s side as well. 

Marinette gently slaps at his cheek, making cooing noises. “Hey! Hey! Kitty!” 

One eye flutters open, showing his neon green eyes. “M’lady…” He murmurs, his voice groggy.

“What happened?” Alya asks.

Chloe, still a distance away, moves towards a hall closet. She hears something behind the doors.

“Guys… there’s someone here.” She hisses.

They all tense, Marinette gripping Chat’s hand a little harder. Alya gestures for Chloe to open the door, and she complies.

On the other side, is a little girl. She was shaking, tears covering her cheeks, her arms wrapped around her knees.

“Please don’t hurt me!” She screams, her shoulders tensing. 

“Hey!” Chloe says gently. “Hey, it’s okay.”

The girl looks up, her eyes big. “Is he gone? Is Adrien okay?”

Chloe gestures for the girl to come to her. “Come on, it’s alright. I won’t hurt you.”

The girl crawls forward, her cheeks still damp.

“Is she okay?” Chat murmurs, his eyes still half closed.

“Yeah, she’s fine.” Marinette whispers, tightening her grip on his hand.

The girl finally comes out of the closet, staring at Chloe with wide eyes.

“What happened?” Alya asks, moving closer to Chloe and the girl.

“My… my dad dropped me off here. He had an emergency, so Adrien was watching over me.” She says slowly. “And then… we heard something in the other room. And all of the lights went out. Adrien told me to go into the closet, and I did. That’s all I know.”

Marinette tilts her head at the girl. “You’re… Simone, right?”

Simone nods. 

“Can we get in touch with your dad?” Alya asks. “What kind of emergency was it?”

“He had to go see Nathalie at the hospital.” Simone whispers, staring down at her lap.

Marinette’s eyes gently close. “You’re Gorille’s daughter.” She whispers.

“You know my dad?” She asks, perking up.

Marinette moves closer to her, finally letting go of Chat’s hand. “Hey, sweetie.” She whispers, gently putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You’re dad’s busy right now, but I know a place that we can bring you that you will be safe at. Is that okay?”

Simone nods, but her eyes are still watery. “Is Adrien okay?”

Marinette chances a glance at Chat, his eyes opening up some more, and sighing in relief when he sees Simone. “Yeah.” Marinette whispers. “Yeah, he is.”

*

Marinette goes to Chat’s side when Alya, Chloe, and Nino bring Simone to Luka and Kagami’s house.

“Hey.” She whispers, gently putting her hand on his cheek. 

“Hey…” He responds, his voice sounding much more present than before.

“Are you okay?” 

“I’ll survive.” He answers.

Marinette gently sweeps some hair out of his eyes. “What happened?”

“I- I heard a commotion… from outside!” He says hurriedly. “And… I decided to check in. See if I could help. That’s when I saw him.”

“Who?”

He blinks, his face going pale. “It was Gabriel Agreste.” He says.

“We know.” She whispers. “He attacked two others earlier tonight.”

“Who?” Chat asks, his eyes going wide.

“The lawyer who prosecuted his case…” She starts. “And his old assistant… Nathalie Sanceour.”

“They identified him?”

Marinette looks away. “They… they didn’t make it.”

“You mean…”

“He killed them.” Marinette answers.

“Intentionally?”

“Yeah.”

Chat nods, though he doesn’t look surprised. In fact, he looks a little sad. “So… if I hadn’t been here…?”

“He more than likely would’ve made Adrien his next victim.” 

“Okay.” Chat says, his voice clipped. “Okay.”

“Did he… did he look like himself?”

“No. He… he looked like his face had been turned inside out. There was blood on his hands. And… he could teleport. Straight through my attacks.”

“Which would explain how he’s been getting around.” Marinette whispers. 

Chat nods, his eyes snapping shut. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” She asks.

“Definitely.” He says. “I want to help you out. I want to put that monster behind bars for the rest of his life.”

“Then let’s get out there.” She whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... we have, like, three or four chapters after this. I’m getting sad. 
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	43. Where Are You Going

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta write the next chapter now 🤪
> 
> Enjoy!

They jump away from Adrien's fire escape. Marinette keeps her eyes on Chat, making sure he didn’t pass out while they were in the air. 

He seemed to be doing well, but she was being cautious. She still wasn’t sure if he had some sort of head injury.

They land on a rooftop not far from his apartment, and Marinette makes sure that Chat doesn’t stumble when his feet touch the ground. He looks fine enough.

Still, she places a hand on his shoulder. She just wants to make sure he wasn’t pushing himself. 

“I’m fine.” He assures her, placing his own hand on top of hers. 

Marinette nods, looking away from him. Her eyes scan the Parisian skyline, trying to see anything out of the ordinary. 

Any bloody Akumas just waiting to jump them in the middle of the night. 

“What are we waiting for?” Chat asks, following her gaze. 

She notices figures in the dark. They were jumping from building to building, almost perfectly in sync. 

Marinette breathes a sigh of relief, and points at the figures. “Them.”

Rena, Carapace, and Queen Bee all land on the rooftop that Ladybug and Chat were waiting on. 

“Good to see that you’re conscious.” Chloé murmurs, raising an eyebrow at Chat. 

He just shrugs. “I’ve been told I have a thick skull.”

“Is she with them?” Marinette asks the group. 

Nino nods. “Yup, and we even called her dad like you asked. Doesn’t speak much.”

“That’s the guy.” Marinette murmurs. She turns to Chat, who is staring at her with wide eyes. “We dropped Simone off at a friend’s. She’ll be safe until this whole mess is over.”

Chat lets out a breath of relief. 

“Anyways, so what’s next?” Alya questions, wrapping her arms around her torso.

Marinette sighs, squeezing her eyes shut. “We need to go looking for Gabriel.”

“Excuse me?” Nino asks, his voice squeaking. “Go  _ looking  _ for the homicidal, crazy man?”

Marinette nods. “Yes.” She says simply. 

Nino purses his lips together. “I don’t know why I was expecting anything different.”

“And I think we should split up.”

All of her teammates’ heads flew to look at her. “Come again?” Chat asks. 

“We have to split up, in groups, obviously,” She mutters, looking at each of them in turn. 

“Obviously?” Chloé repeats, but it’s worded like a question. 

“We can cover more ground, but we won’t be alone. You guys go one way, and me and Chat will go the other.”

“What if we run into him?” Alya asks. “Why if  _ you  _ run into him?”

“Stay in touch.” Marinette instructs, grabbing her earpiece. “Tell us if you see him, and we’ll do the same.”

Alya rushes forward, and wraps Marinette in a hug. “Be safe.” She whispers. 

Marinette nods, squeezing her best friend. “I will. Promise.”

“Anybody wanna hug me?” Chat asks, opening his arms.

Ninio sniffles. “Bring it in, man!”

Chloe watches, and face palms. “I am so embarrassed to be seen with all of you.” She murmurs, but her voice lacks bite. 

*

Marinette and Chat stop on a roof a distance away from where they left the others. 

“Do you see anything?” She asks, squinting at the darkness. 

Chat shakes his head, his bright green eyes scanning the sky and ground below. “Nothing yet.”

She sees the way his hands are clenched, his claws digging into his palms. “Chat…” She says softly, grabbing his hand.

He looks down at their joined fingers. “I should’ve been able to stop him.”

Marinette shakes her head. “Come on…”

“No!” He says, his voice hoarse. “Now… people are dying and I can’t do anything. I  _ should’ve  _ been able to stop him!” 

“He’s a superpowered akuma. We don’t even know what his powers are. You can’t blame yourself for tha-”

Chat shakes his head, his cat ears swinging with the moment. “No. I should’ve stopped him before all of this. I should’ve known what he was capable of.”

Marinette feels the air rush out of her lungs.  _ Was he about to tell her…?  _ “Chat!” She says, her voice commanding. He looks up at her, his ears curling in on themselves, and his eyes wide and pleading. “You can’t… you can’t keep thinking of what ifs.”

“But…”

“I know.” Marinette whispers, taking a step closer. She knows that there is an akuma on the loose, but she can’t go into that fight with a partner that was distracted. “It’s  _ so  _ easy to think about what could have been. What if I’d figured out Gabriel’s identity earlier. What if I had actually given my miraculous to my best friend the day that I got it. What if… I’d had my partner the whole time…”

They both grow quiet at that, and Marinette has to clear her throat. “But we can’t think about all of our missed opportunities. We have to go forward, and hope that whatever happens next will be right. We can’t get anything right if we’re still beating ourselves up.”

Chat gives her a small smile, the gesture lighting up his face in a way she didn’t think possible. “Anyone ever told you that you’re really inspiring?”

Ladybug shrugs. “Once or twice.”

He nods. “Right. Well, we should keep going…” He takes a step forward, but Marinette tightens her hold on his hand. “M’lady?” He asks, turning to face her.

“Chat… there’s something I need to tell you…” Was now the best time to do this? Probably not. But who knew when, or if, she would ever get a chance to tell him. “I… I just want you to know that…” She takes a deep breath. “I know that Gabriel is-”

“Right behind you?” Another voice cuts her off, and Marinette feels her spine stiffen. She knew that voice. She  _ hated  _ that voice.

Her and Chat spin around. He was standing in the shadow of the chimney on top of the roof. Marinette couldn’t make out much, but she saw the way Chat shivered when he saw the man.

“Well, how lovely was it that after spending so much time searching for  _ Ladybug _ , I find her just standing on a rooftop with her new  _ sidekick _ .”

“What’s with this sidekick business?” Chat tries to quip, but the waver in his voice gives him away. Marinette wasn’t sure if it was from anger or fear. Probably a mix of both.

“What do you want Hawkmoth?” Ladybug yells, trying to keep her voice even. 

He laughs, but it lacks any amusement. “What do I want? Well… you. Or, more like, I want you to pay. Pay for everything you did to me.”

He takes a step into the light, and as Marinette sees him, she finds herself taking an involuntary step back. He was truly grotesque. Well… more than usual.

He looked more carved up than his victims. As Chat had told her, his skin looked like it had been turned inside out, and blood coated his hands and forearms like gloves.

“And now…” Gabriel muses, flexing one of his hands. “I do believe I have the power to do what I’ve always wanted to accomplish.”

“And that is?”

He smiles, a smile that sent a shock of fear through the spotted superheroine. “Why… to squash you like the bug that you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time (which is hopefully tomorrow) <3<3<3


	44. Don't Leave Me Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!!!

Chat striked first. 

He swung his baton straight on Gabriel’s head. The man looked fazed for a second, but before Chat could throw his baton again, Gabriel disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

“I can sense you are much more… leap before you look.” Gabriel’s voice booms from behind Chat, and slams his head to the ground.

Marinette touches her ear piece, intent to get ahold of Rena. 

“Rena!” She breathes, moving into a fighting stance. 

“LB? Are you okay? What’s up?”

“We-” That’s when Gabriel brings a hand up and slaps her in the face. The earpiece flies out of her ear, and Gabriel steps on it. 

“No. This is between us.” He remarks.

Chat shakily lifts his head, trying to stand up. The akuma kicks him in the face.

Marinette takes her yoyo, and wraps it around Gabriel’s legs. “Not… my… partner…” She hisses, pulling his legs out from under him.

“Partner?” Gabriel rasps, moving his legs in a way that sent her forwards. The man gets to his feet. “I’m ashamed, Ladybug. I am gone for a few months, and suddenly you’ve aligned yourself with… a bat man wannabe.” 

“Actually, it would be cat man!” Chat yells, jumping on Gabriel’s back. 

He flips Chat over his shoulder, just as Ladybug throws her yoyo at him. Gabriel puffs away again, making Chat get wrapped up in her weapon.

“Oof.” They both sigh at the same time. 

Marinette feels arms wrap around her middle from behind. The acrid scent of blood fills her nostrils. 

Gabriel squeezes her torso, lifting her up. As Ladybug feels her feet leave the ground, she takes in a deep breath of air.

And then she brings her legs up, to kick his legs… or the highest place she could reach. 

Gabriel immediately lets go of her, doubling over in pain. Marinette scrambles forward, bringing her foot down in between Gabriel’s shoulder blades.

His body hits the ground with a resounding thud. Just as she was looking around his body for an akumatized object, she hears a sound that shocks her to her core. 

Gabriel was laughing.

“You’ve gotten good at this.” He remarks. “After all of these years, I have certainly made you an extravagant adversary.” 

He lifts his head to her, and she feels her insides go cold. It wasn’t his face that froze her. She had seen a lot of horrible things over the years. It was, in fact, the eyes that made terror crawl up her throat. The same eyes that had haunted her since that fateful day when she was fourteen. 

And he took the opportunity to disappear again in a flash of smoke.

She takes a step back, her head swivelling around for any sign of Gabriel. When she doesn’t see him, she grabs a hold of a dazed Chat Noir.

“You okay?” She whispers.

“Perfectly fine.” He murmurs, his voice slurred.

“Isn’t this fun?” Gabriel asks. The two turn around to see him on the other side of the roof. “All this time I’ve spent getting other people to do my handiwork for me. And yet, it is so much easier to get it done myself.”

“Good thing you finally learnt  _ something _ in your time at the clink.” Chat murmurs, bringing his staff up across his chest in a defensive position.

She turns her head a miniscule to have both Chat and Gabriel in her vision. “I think it’s time for a.. Lucky Charm!” She reaches into the air, and grabs ahold of the possession that was conjured this time.

She narrows her eyes at the object. “What am I supposed to do with this?” It was a curtain rod. A circular one that was longer than Chat’s current staff.

Gabriel laughs, walking forward. “Ah… memories.”

“Wait… are you serious?” Chat asks, looking at her. “You honestly don’t know what to do?”

Gabriel was getting closer to them. “No! I see nothing that could help.” Her head was still moving, seeing if anything useful would pop out to her.

Chat was giving her a blank look.

Ladybug crosses her arms over her chest. “What? If you have a good idea, you can do it!” 

Chat nods, and grabs the curtain rod from her hand. He grips it tightly, and before she can comprehend what was happening, he hit him over the head with the curtain rod. Hard.

“Well… I could’ve done that.”

“But you didn’t.” Chat murmurs, looking quite pleased with the prone form of Gabriel Agreste on the concrete. 

“Quick, search him for a akum-”

“An akumatized object?” Gabriel asks, rising to his feet. “I know the drill, Ladybug.”

“You know what, you’re really starting to piss me off.” Marinette mumbles under her breath, swinging her yoyo around.

“ _ Starting  _ to?” 

“We do this together?” She whispers, watching as he starts swinging his baton.

“You and me against the world, m’lady.” He whispers.

They rush forward at the same time, Marinette swiping at Gabriel’s feet, Chat going at him from above. 

No matter how many times they brought him down, he was still able to get back up. He was like every single one of his akumas manifested into one persona. 

That’s when she saw it. A lump in his orange pocket, the dark edges of it peeking out from the fabric.

Gabriel slapped her away before she could properly reach for it. 

Her and Chat retreat, staring at the man in front of them. “I think I found it. There’s an object in his pocket. I think it’s a paper.”

“Do you… want me to just cataclysm all of him so that we could get the object…?” Chat asks raising an eyebrow.

Marinette stills for a second, her mind working furiously, before she shakes her head. “What? No! No. We don’t do that.”

“Fine.” Chat huffs, his ears drooping. “What’s your plan?”

“Keep him busy. I can get at his pocket. Think you can do that?”

Chat raises his staff, and the curtain rod. He winks at her, before rushing at Gabriel.

“Ah, the kitten comes without his owner?” Gabriel quips, deflecting Chat’s hits. 

Chat Noir brings his baton upwards, and Gabriel catches his wrist. They do the same with the other weapon. 

Both of their hands were raised above their heads. “Are you feeling proud of yourself,  _ sidekick _ ?” He hisses.

Chat smirks, and looks down. “Actually, I am.”

Gabriel follows Chat’s gaze to watch as Ladybug pulls the paper out of his pocket. He lets go of Chat’s wrists. “No!” 

He reaches towards Marinette, but Chat brings both of his weapons down on top of Gabriel’s head.

The man falls to the ground, and shakily raises his head to watch as Marinette hands the paper to Chat Noir. He calls, “Cataclysm!” And the paper crumbles in his hands.

A butterfly flutters out of the ash, and Marinette catches it with her yoyo. The white insect comes out of her weapon, leaving. 

The aumatization wears off, and Gabriel Agreste’s true form lays on the concrete. 

“Chaton?” She asks, holding her hand out. He tosses the rod at her, and she throws it into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

*

Nurse JoAnn and Gorille were still in the hospital room. 

Gorille was standing watch, though he was pointedly looking anywhere but Nathalie’s bed and body.

Jo was sitting on a plastic chair that she had dragged as far from the bed as possible. Her head was in her hands, rubbing at her temples.

A wave of pink rushes over the hospital room.

And then, Nathalie shoots up in her hospital bed, taking in a deep breath of air. 

Jo screams, her hand going to her chest. 

Nathalie looks around, her blue eyes wide. Gorille rushes to her bed, and places a hand on her shoulder. Her now alive shoulder.

The formerly dead woman places a hand on her chest. Her now completely un carved chest. 

“What happened?” Nathalie asks, looking around.

Jo faints, her body slumping in the plastic chair.

*

Marinette turns to Chat, the ladybugs fanning across Paris. It had worked.

He raises his fist, and she gently bumps it. “Pound it,” They both whisper, relieved sighs escaping their lips.

“We did it.” Chat murmurs, a smile gracing his features.

Ladybug nods. “We did it.” She repeats.

Chat looks around. “I… I should go. I have to go.”

Marinette nods. “You have things to do. It’s okay.” She gestures towards Gabriel. “I can take him back.”

Chat rubs her shoulder. “I’ll see you later?”

“Definitely.” Marinette answers. They have a lot of things to talk about.

Chat runs to the next building, and hides behind a small foundation on the rooftop. 

Marinette takes a few steps toward Gabriel, trying to keep her nausea down. She had to remind herself that Gabriel had no control over his akumatized self. He was being controlled.

“Mr. Agreste?” She asks softly, as if this man hadn’t waged a personal war against her and Paris for over a decade. “Are you okay?”

His fingers dig into the cement, looking up at her. “What- what happened?”

Ladybug purses her lips. “You were akumatized.”

Gabriel nods. “Right…”

“Can you stand up?”  _ He was just a normal victim. He was just a normal victim. He was just a normal victim.  _

Gabriel shakes his head. “No.” He whispers.

Marinette gently offers her hand to him. “Here.” She whispers. 

Gabriel grabs her hand, and before Marinette can understand what was happening, Gabriel pulls her to the ground.

She gasps in surprise, as the man climbs on top of her, and wraps his hands around her neck.

“It’s okay that you deakumatized me.” He hisses. “All I wanted was to get to you in the first place. You have a lot to pay for.” His fingers dig into the soft flesh of her throat.

She gasps, trying to say something.

Gabriel sits on her legs, and pins her arms to her sides. She couldn’t move.

That’s when he reaches for one of her earrings, the other hand still holding onto her neck. 

She feels her mask start to disappear. He reaches for the other earring.

Marinette wiggles her legs, trying to get him off of her. But it didn’t work. He wouldn’t budge.

“Time to see who’s really behind the mask.” Gabriel hisses.

Any other time, this would’ve been the moment where the bad guy was stopped. But this wasn’t any other moment. Marinette was alone.

Gabriel grabbed her other earring, and a wave of pink washes over her as she detransforms. 

Gabriel tilts his head at her. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” There was something altogether terrifying with Gabriel saying her actual name. “I remember you. You got in the way of a few of my akumas back in the day. I tried to akumatize you, but it didn’t work.” He brings both of his hands to her neck again, and squeezes. 

This time, there was no costume protecting her from most of the impact.

“Now I know why, right?” Gabriel whispers.

Marinette was ashamed to admit that she felt tears well up in her eyes. She couldn’t breath. Her mind was going foggy, and all she could feel was his fingers digging into her throat.

“I’m going to make you pay for all of the pain you put me through.” Gabriel whispers, his eyes boring into hers.

Marinette had enough oxygen to think,  _ this is the end _ . She was going to die, and she was never going to get a chance to see her friends again. To see her parents again. To see Chat Noir again.

She didn’t even get to hold Sara one last time. 

And then she felt Gabriel’s hands loosen around her neck. He fell forward, his body crushing hers. Distantly, she registers a bloody indent on the back of the man’s head.

Marinette sees a figure standing behind Gabriel, a piece of wood in his hands.

The figure rushes forward, moving Gabriel off of her, and lifting her into his arms.

Mint green eyes stare into hers. Eyes that were no longer hidden by a mask. “M’lady?” Adrien asks softly, placing a hand on her cheek.

“Chaton.” She responds, her words slurring, and with that Marinette finds herself falling into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you all know, I cannot write action for the life of me, so I hope that you enjoyed.
> 
> There was a LOT going on this chapter, and there's only two more after this. And one of those is set like 14 years later ToT
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	45. How Can I Follow You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm late, but life has been really busy lately. This probably isn't my best work, but it's ending soon, so what do you want from me ToT
> 
> ENJOY!

When Marinette wakes up, it’s to the sound of hushed whispers. 

Sunlight bled through her eyelids, causing her to tighten them in response. It didn’t really help.

When Marinette realized that neither the sun, nor the whispers were going to end any time soon, she cracked one eye open. “Can you keep it down?” She groans.

The whispering stops.

Her vision was a little blurry, so she couldn’t see who was talking. She raises one, sore hand, and rubs at her eyeballs.

As the scene becomes clearer in focus, Marinette feels something ram into her side.

“Mommy! You’re awake!” Sara exclaims, tightly holding on to Marinette’s shoulder and arms. 

Marinette gently smiles, running a hand through her daughter’s hair. “Hey, baby.” She murmurs. “What are you doing here?”

Sara, her blue eyes impossibly big, gives her mother a look that was half exasperated and half scared. “I couldn’t leave you here all alone.”

“Here…” Marinette whispers, and that’s when she finally gets a good look at her surroundings. 

She was in a hospital room. She was in a hospital bed. And, as she’d presumed from the whispers, her and Sara were not alone.

“Mari.” Alya whispers, taking a few steps closer to her best friend. “It’s so good to see you awake.” Alya presses a hand to her own neck, and swallows thickly. Marinette was confused. She didn’t remember a lot from before she woke up.

Chloe, who had been leaning against the wall, doesn’t move closer. Instead, she is staring at Marinette with saddened eyes, masked by her usual imperviousness.

Besides her, stood a large shadow in the corner. The light wasn’t really reaching the figure, so she couldn’t really make out who it was.

“What happened?” Marinette asks, and she just now realizes that her voice sounded hoarse. 

Alya worries at her lip, and shares a look with Chloe. The blonde nods, and gestures at Sara. “Hey, sweetie, why don’t we go get some snacks?” She then turns to the shadow. “You wanna come too?” 

The man steps forward, and Marinette recognizes him as Gorille. He gives a single nod, and opens the door.

“I’m good.” Sara murmurs, her grip on Marinette getting almost painful. 

“Sara…” Chloe says, her voice a warning.

Sara turns to Marinette, and places a kiss on her cheek, and then on her throat. The older woman wonders why she felt pain at the touch. She whispers, “I love you, Mommy.” Before hurrying away with Chloe and Gorille, grabbing ahold of both of their hands.

Alya steps closer to Mari’s bed, and pulls a plastic chair to her side. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Confused. Why am I in a hospital?”

“How much do you remember?”

Marinette furrows her eyebrows, memories flashing through her. Blood. Death. Darkness. Cold, murderous, blue eyes. And then softer, more gentle green eyes. 

“Not enough.” She answers, shivering at the flashes. 

“That’s probably for the best…” Alya murmurs, looking out the window. 

Marinette grabs Alya’s hand, and squeezes it. That gains her friend’s attention. “Als… what happened?”

Alya shakes her head. “I… I don’t really know. Not all the details at least.”

“What do you know?” Marinette pushes, her curiosity getting the better of her. Most of the time, she really hated being out of the loop. Ironic, considering who her mentor is.

“We… we couldn’t find you. You tried contacting me, but then your comm stopped working.” 

Right… because we were tracking Gabriel.

“We started looking all over for you, but we weren’t splitting up. That seemed too dangerous…” Alya explains, moving her free hand as she talks. “Maybe we should’ve…”

Marinette squeezes Alya’s fingers again, and the other woman nods. 

“We were running around when we saw your Ladybugs. We figured that meant that everything was good, and you were okay. So, we did what we thought you’d want us to do.

“Nino went back to the lawyer’s house to make sure that he was fine. Even gave a card to his wife for a psychiatrist. The poor woman… I went to get Simone frome Luka’s. And Chloe went to check on Nathalie.”

“And were they-” Marinette asks, sitting up in her bed.

“All fine. All healthy.” Alya confirms. “They were all fine. And we thought everything was okay. And then Chat brought you in.”

Marinette scrunches her forehead. “What do you mean, he ‘brought me in’.”

Alya blinks, and Marinette thinks she sees the glistening of tears. “Chloe was getting ready to leave when he ran to the room. She said you were in his arms, with a bruise on your neck, and that Gabriel tried to-”

“He choked me.” Marinette murmurs, her hand going to her throat. She winces at the contact. That explains why it hurt. Her neck was bruised from where his hands had squeezed it.

Alya nods. “He sent you straight to the doctor. Said you were unconscious, wasn’t even sure what happened. And then-” Alya’s hands curled up, breaking free from Marinette’s hold. “He left.”

“He left?” Marinette repeats, her mind still playing catch up.

Alya scoffs. “Yeah. Dropped you off, didn’t even wait for us to show up--”

“He knocked Gabriel out.” Marinette whispers. “He couldn’t risk him getting away.”

“So then why hasn’t he come back since? And why hasn’t he said anything now that all of Paris is calling him a hero?” Alya mutters, looking away.

Marinette didn’t really know. Her mind was raging far too much for her to think straight.

And then something occurred to her. 

“Alya… why aren’t I transformed if Chat brought Ladybug in?” If what she thought she remembered was true- but it couldn’t be. It must’ve just been a hallucination from her oxygen deprived brain.

Alya purses her lips. “He didn’t, Mari. He brought you in.”

“But that means…” It was real. He knew her identity. And she knew his.

“Chat knows who Ladybug really is!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really that big a deal, y'all already knew that.
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	46. Into The Unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!
> 
> ENJOY!!!

Marinette stayed in the hospital for a week. A week of nothing to do but going over the company books with Chloe, and wondering where the hell her partner was. 

It wasn’t all boring. She got visitors.

Luke would bring Sara in every day after school. She was staying with him and Kagami just a little bit longer, just until Marinette was finally released. Never before had Marinette been more glad that Sara had her father. 

One day, when it was only Marinette and Gorille (who had been in her room ever since she woke up), there was a knock at the door.

Confused as to who she knew would actually knock before entering, Marinette raises her voice. “Come in!”

The door opened to reveal none other than Nathalie Sanceour.

She steps forward, looking so much healthier than Marinette had seen her be in a long time. “Marinette.”

Marinette gives a little smile. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Nathalie nods, her eyes going to Marinette’s neck. “I- I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault.” Marinette murmurs, shaking her head.

“If I had just turned him in sooner… this wouldn’t have happened. He wouldn’t have gone crazy-- crazier. And he wouldn’t have gotten that blasted girl involved…”

“Monarch?” Marinette asks, raising an eyebrow. “You do know her.”

Nathalie nods. “Unfortunately.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me who she was?” 

Nathalie looks away, something happening behind her blue eyes. “I guess… I guess I still felt some sort of allegiance to him. That maybe… with a little time away from his miraculous… he would still be the man I thought he was. I just wish I had seen who he was from the start.”

Marinette gently placed her hand over Nathalie’s. “You can still make things right.”

“Yes… but not now. You need rest. Believe me… I should know.” Nathalie murmurs, straightening. 

“Goodbye Nathalie.” Marinette sighs, resting her head on her pillow.

“Goodbye, Marinette…” Nathalie murmurs, as she reaches the door. However, right before she leaves, she turns around to face her. “And… thank you.”

*

Marinette was in her room, listening to the pitter patter of rain outside her window. None of her friends were going to be able to visit for a couple of hours, and boredom was starting to creep in.

Her eyes stray to the corner of her room, where Gorille stands. Has been standing ever since she woke up.

“Hey!” She says, breaking the abundant silence.

His eyes flick to her, and he nods in greeting. He didn’t really talk all that much.

“You’re not a talker, are you?”

He shrugs, tilting his head to the side. 

Okay…

Biting her lip, Marinette just cuts to the chase. “You know Adrien, right? Adrien Agreste? He was watching your daughter the other night.”

He nods. 

“You were his bodyguard.” Marinette murmurs. “That’s how you know him, right?”

He nods again, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Why are you still here?” She asks.

Gorille raises an eyebrow at her, as if the answer was obvious.

“Did… did he ask you to watch over me?”

Gorille just looks away. However, he gives her a look. A look that she reads quite clearly as: “What do you think?”

“Thank you.” She murmurs, burying into her pillows.

“You’re welcome.” He murmurs, and Marinette drifts off before she can fully process what her brain is telling her she heard.

*

Marinette is released on Saturday morning. 

It was raining, and Alya, Chloe, and Kagami had all come to her room. Gorille had left early that morning, something about needing to get Simone from school. At least, that’s what she assumed since he hasn’t spoken to her again. 

Alya was dressing Marinette in a long coat, fussing with all the buttons and zippers. “I can dress myself.” Marinette had murmurs, playfully slapping Alya’s hands away.

“I know…” Alya says, but she was still fiddling with the coat. “Are you sure that you don’t want one of us to drive you guys? It would be no problem.”

“Absolutely not.” Marinette had answered, zipping her boots up. “I’m fine. The last few days were just to make sure I didn’t have any lasting brain damage.”

“And she is perfectly healthy!” Tikki squeaks, gently pinching Marinette’s cheek. She had been fussing more than any of the others, which was one of the reasons that Mari had been so happy to have Gorille in her room. Less to time for Tikki to nag.

Alya sighs in defeat, crossing her arms over her chest.

Chloe picks up an umbrella. “Okay, in that case, we bought this for you. Please don’t get hit by lightning.”

Kagami shakes her head. “Don’t listen to them, Marinette. You are a warrior, and you will get through this. Just think of this as another battle, in which you must rip off the heads of your enemies!”

“Gross…” Sara mutters, scrunching her face up.

“Sweetie, do you want to drive home with Kagami?” Marinette asks, getting to eye level with her daughter.

Sara shakes her head emphatically. “No! I wanna walk with you! Please! I love the rain!”

“Are you just doing this because someone asked you to keep an eye on me?” Behind their friend, Chloe and Alya shake their heads. 

“Yes, but I really do want to go with you.” Sara answers, and both women sigh.

Marinette rolls her eyes at her friend’s antics, but grabs the umbrella and Sara. 

“Alright, I’ll text you guys when we get home.”

“You better!” Chloe yells at their retreating backs, her yell just barely getting out before the door slams shut.

*

Marinette tightly gripped the umbrella, her grip on Sara almost as hard. 

“Mamma…” Sara murmurs, looking ahead of them. “I think I see someone.”

Marinette furrows her eyebrows. “What do you mean, sweetheart?”

Sara points a distance ahead, right where their building was sure to be. “There! I think I see someone.”

Marinette squints, not being able to see anything in the thick fog hanging over Paris. “I don’t see anything.”

Sara doesn’t respond, but she squeezes Marinette’s hand. Whether in fright or anticipation, Marinette has no idea. 

As they continue walking, Marinette finally sees what Sara had been talking about. Standing right in front of their building was a figure. A figure that was just standing in the rain.

“What the-” Marinette murmurs, hurrying forward.

Who in their right minds would actually stand outside in weather like this?

As the two girls step closer, Marinette gets an answer to her question. 

There he is, looking at the building with sad eyes. His soaked hair was sticking to his forehead, and all of his clothes were drenched. She wondered how long he had been standing there.

“Adrien?” She asks, her voice sounding much stronger than she felt. 

It didn’t sound particularly loud, especially compared to the storm raging around her, but he turned to face her. He was listening.

“Marinette!” He exclaims, his eyes wide. He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “How are you doing?”

“Adrien- what are you-” She stutters, looking at Sara to check if she was seeing what she thought she was seeing.

The little girl just gives her a shrug, and runs to the door of their building. An awning was covering her from the downpour.

The man just gives her a crooked smile, the expression not quite meeting his eyes. “I- I heard that you were coming home today. I figured… if you wanted to see me…”

He wasn’t quite meeting her eyes. 

“Why wouldn’t I want to see you?” Marinette asks.

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Because- because I left you!” He breathes, his eyes looking as wet as the rest of him. “Because I left, and he attacked, and-” He presses a hand to his throat, much like Alya had did the first time Marinette had woken up. “I wasn’t there.”

“You stopped him.” Marinette murmurs, walking forward. “You saved my life.”

Adrien shakes his head again, looking down. “I should’ve been there.”

She bites her lip. Another step. “You’re here now.”

When he finally raises his head to meet her eyes, she takes the plunge. She walks up to him, covering him with her umbrella. 

“Why were you standing out in the rain without an umbrella?” She asks, gently touching his wet, cold sleeve.

Adrien gives her a lopsided grin. “You still have my umbrella, M’lady.”

Marinette stares at him, her mouth dropping open. And then, impossibly, she laughs. “You are so stupid, chaton.” She mutters.

He opens his mouth in defense, but she grabs his cheek, and presses her lips to his.

He was somehow both cold and warm at the same time. She smelled rain, and cookies, and even old cheese, and it was perfect.

He grabs her waist, and she can’t even be bothered by the fact that he was most definitely making her clothes damp.

“Ew!” Two small voices murmur, and they both turn to see Sara still standing under the awning. However, she is joined by two friends.

“That was sickening.” Plagg mutters, grabbing at his stomach.

Tikki shrugs. “I thought it was cute…”

“Shut it!” Adrien yells at his kwami.

Plagg shakes his head. “You know what? I’m glad it took us so long to get to Paris. I could not handle ten extra years of that.”

Tikki giggles. “Like they would be smart enough to actually get together with all that extra time.”

“They’re not very bright.” Sara stage whispers to the kwami.

Marinette shakes her head. She was soaked, being made fun of, and had just gotten home after nearly being killed. But damn, if it wasn’t the happiest she’d ever been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried writing this.
> 
> Y'all should thank meerturtle for telling me to post this earlier, otherwise you would've gotten this whenever I had free time in between classes tomorrow ToT
> 
> This isn't totally done, we still have an epilogue placed 14 years in the future, but it's mostly done so be sad.
> 
> I won't be doing any of my thanks and recognitions until the epilogue tho, so shhhh....
> 
> Until next time <3<3<3


	47. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENJOY!!!

_ 14 years later... _

The airport was bustling as the family entered.

The mother was sniffling, while her husband had an arm wrapped around her. “I can’t believe it.” She wailed.

“It’s okay…” Her husband murmured, his green eyes crinkling with amusement.

She smacked his arm. “My baby is leaving for college, nothing is alright!”

Sara shakes her head, tightening her grip on her suitcase. “Mom, I’m fine.”

Marinette fans at her eyes. “I- I- I just can’t handle this.”

“Daddy…” A young girl whines, looking up at Adrien. “Mommy’s crying again! Can you make her stop?”

“I’m trying…” Adrien answered, raising his eyebrows at his inconsolable wife.

“I thought  _ I  _ was your baby…” A boy that looked just like the little girl hanging off of Adrien’s arm pouts.

“You’re all my babies.” Marinette answers.

Sara shakes her head. “Okay…” She murmurs, turning to her stepmother.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Kagami smiles, wrapping Sara into her arms. “You’re going to do so great in New York.”

“Thanks, Kagami…” She murmurs, her cheeks reddening.

“Your father would be so proud.” Kagami continues, gently stroking Sara’s cheek.

The young woman nods. “I know.”

She then turns to her stepfather. 

Adrien shakes his head, bringing her in for a hug. “You know the tune. Blow ‘em all away, kid!”

Sara pulls back, placing a hand over her heart. “Aw, that’s sweet. But… we both know that I’m the Lawrence in this relationship.”

Adrien nods in agreement. 

Sara turns to her mother, who is still fanning at her eyes. “I can’t handle this!” 

Turning away from the woman, she leans down to her little siblings. 

Hugo, the oldest at 12 years old, and the ten year old twins, Emma and Louis.

“I’m gonna miss you guys!” She says, opening her arms wide.

Hugo shrugs, high fiving her, before walking over to a bench. Louis hugs Sara, murmuring ‘Goodbye’ in her ear, before trying to calm down their mom.

Emma just pouts at her. “Do you have to leave?” She asks, her blue eyes wide. “Can’t you just stay?”

“I’m afraid not, kit.” She murmurs, grabbing Emma’s hand. “But we can still talk, all the time. I’m always within reach.”

The corner of Emma’s lips pull upwards, and she finally hugs her sister. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, kitten. I’ll miss you too.” She sighs into Emma’s blonde hair.

Finally, Emma rises to her full height, and walks to her mother.

“Mom, I’ve said bye to everyone else, and I want to actually get to my flight on time.”

Marinette nods, giving a watery laugh. “I know… I know… it’s just… I can’t believe you’re already leaving.”

“I’m not going to be going alone. I’ll come to visit whenever I can.” Sara reminds, holding Marinette by the shoulders. “This isn’t goodbye forever.”

Marinette nods. “I know… I know.”

“Come here, mamma.” Sara says, squeezing Marinette into the tightest hug she possibly could. 

She feels her shoulder dampen from her mother’s tears and rolls her eyes. 

When they pull away, Marinette gently touches the pendant hanging around Sara’s neck. “Take care of her.” She murmurs to someone that couldn’t be seen.

Sara walks forward, turning to her family. “See ya on the flipside!” She calls, running to get to her gate.

She hears a small voice come from inside her shirt pocket. “I can’t believe we’re finally going to New York!”

“I know, Mullo.” Sara answers. “It’s so exciting.”

“And also a little bit scary.” Mullo sighs, peeking her head out just a little bit more. “I mean… I’ve never been to New York before.”

“Me neither.” Sara answers, taking a deep breath. She was leaving home for the first time. Stepping into a new place that she had no prior knowledge of. And in a way, it was exhilarating. “But we’ll get through it. After all, we have each other.”

She gently pats the pocket that Mullo was in, and smiles widely.

This was the beginning of a new adventure. An adventure that she had no idea where she would be heading, but that was part of the fun.

Quoting one of her favorite movies from her childhood; She was going into the unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t believe it’s over. This kind of doesn’t feel real.
> 
> I have a few things I’d like to say.
> 
> First off, I got this idea after listening to the Panic! At The Disco version of Into the Unknown. I actually originally thought of this for another fandom I was in, so I’m kind of glad that that one imploded, because I couldn’t have done it as well as I did here.
> 
> Fun fact: I based Sara off of Trixie from the show Lucifer. If you’ve seen it, that might explain a lot.
> 
> Some special thanks to my friends from The Schuyler Sisters, who went through all of my breakdowns writing this au. 
> 
> Thanks to the person who beta read the first few chapters of this (yes, that’s probably why it stopped making sense because I stopped using the beta reader)
> 
> Of course, thank you to everybody that has read and commented, and everyone that WILL read and comment, because I love hearing from you guys and seeing that you liked it.
> 
> Also, announcement time, I am currently in the process of writing sequels. Yes, as in, more than one. One, of these will be a Twitter social media au of Sara and her time in New York. If you want to see that, I am @agreste_dupain_ on Twitter. The other one will be a follow up of all those Adrienette babies. And then, of course, we still have How Does a Moment Last Forever.
> 
> I am not done with this series yet, and I hope you will all follow me. 
> 
> Thank you for coming this far, and I hope to see you later on. 
> 
> Goodbye <3<3<3


End file.
